Honest Curse: SeanStyle
by Spyrofan777
Summary: ADOPTED FROM "hinatasgreatestfan" ! Naruto has a curse that forces him to keep his promises no matter what. Rating subject to change. Pairings: NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I know what you're thinking: "What in the name of all that is good is a Spyro-writer doing in a Naruto-base?" Well, I adopted _Honest Curse_ from hinatasgreatestfan. This first four chapters are his completly. So yeah... Let's start the story.**

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><p>Honest Curse: Sean-Style<br>Chapter 1

Naruto was frustrated. He'd just asked Sakura out for like the thousandth time, and of course she'd said no. He had the feeling she'd never say yes. He thought about asking her why she never said yes, but he didn't really think he wanted to know. He was only half-listening to Sakura, so he only heard the last part of her sentence.

"...ever again," she was saying.

Naruto shook his head, then said, "Sorry, Sakura, I kinda zoned out a minute there, what was that?"

She sighed, frustrated. "I said, Naruto, please promise me you won't ask me out ever again."

Naruto looked on in shock. Did she really not like him? Apparently she didn't, and she wanted him to not keep asking her out. Well, everyone knew he wouldn't break his promises, but maybe this one he could...sometime. He sighed. "All right, Sakura. I won't ask you out anymore."

"Say it, Naruto, say you promise. I know you never break your promises, so say you promise me you won't ask me out anymore."

It hurt him badly to know she was this insistent; his shoulders slumped, but he wanted her to be happy, so he sighed and said, "I promise, I won't ask you out anymore, Sakura." Even as he spoke, he had the feeling these words would come back to haunt him. He had no idea how right he was; even so, he also had no idea how glad he would be one day to have spoken them.

Two Days Later

Naruto saw Sakura coming toward him. She seemed happier the last couple days since he hadn't asked her out. She had even talked to him a few times, and she acted pretty friendly. Their time together in class had even been more enjoyable for both of them, all things considered. He smiled at her as she got closer. He decided he'd ask her out again, just once, for old times' sake if nothing else. He opened his mouth.

"..." he found himself unable to speak. What in the world? He tried again, with the same result. Sakura looked at him with a confused look on her face. He closed his mouth and shrugged. She rolled her eyes and went to talk to Sasuke; or, to be more accurate, to get ignored by the jerk. Naruto groaned. She'd rather get ignored by Sasuke than say yes to Naruto? Why? What did that jerk have that he didn't? Other than a stick up his ass, that is.

Naruto thought about what had happened. He'd tried to break his promise, for the first time in his life, and found he literally couldn't. As they were all outside for taijutsu lessons, he was able to easily sneak away from the others and sit by himself to think. He thought about all the promises he'd made, and kept, and he realized he'd never once tried to go back on his word. And now, when he did try, he was physically incapable of it. He remembered the feeling in his throat when he'd tried to speak just now. His throat had closed. Not like he couldn't breathe, he just couldn't speak.

Hinata

Hinata saw Naruto go off by himself and crouch down. He seemed bothered by something. She watched as he put his hands to his throat and wondered what was wrong. She watched him, worried about him, as he seemed like he was trying not to cry or something. She moved slowly toward him and heard him muttering something about promises. She knew, as did everyone, that if Naruto promised something, he'd do it, no matter what. He never went back on his word; she knew, unlike most, that he thought of that as his ninja way.

Hinata approached Naruto from behind, shyly. She knew this could be her chance. She shivered in anticipation and fear, then thought about something her mother told her once when she was young.

Flashback

_Hinata was talking to her mother. Hinata was only about three at the time, and her mother was asking her if she had any friends; she had been out of the compound several times of course. Hinata told her about the young boy she played with at the park all the time, Naruto. Her mother seemed quite pleased with this for some reason, but Hinata shrugged that off. She didn't really care what anyone thought. She liked Naruto, even though all the other kids seemed to hate him or ignore him. She loved spending time with the rambunctious blond._

"_He's so nice, Mommy, and he doesn't hesitate; he's so self-assured, and I always know if he says he'll do something he means it and he'll never break his word." Hinata was gushing a little, but she didn't care. "And he always takes the time to talk to me and play with me; he doesn't just ignore me like the others. And he doesn't think I'm too soft or too kind, he seems to like me for that."_

"_I'm sure he does, Hinata. Being kind and soft are only looked down on here. Most people will like you for that. Don't ever lose that." Hinata smiled at her mother's praise. "Just remember, daughter, there will come a day when you will have a chance to do something. You will only have one chance, and your decision that day will change the rest of your life. You'll know it when that day comes because you'll be afraid to act, but you'll know if you don't, you'll never have another chance. Please, daughter, when that day comes, fight down your fear and act. Do what needs to be done and make your life the best it can be."_

Flashback End

Hinata smiled at the memory of her mother. Then she got a very serious and determined look on her face, thinking that yes, this was that chance of which her mother had spoken. She could finally talk to Naruto alone and try to make him really see her. Since that day talking to her mother, Hinata had kept watching Naruto and had slowly but surely fallen in love with him. The thought of being with him, being HIS was all that kept her going some days.

Hinata thought another moment, then nodded. This was her chance, damn it, and she wasn't about to pass it up. She'd make him see her; she'd make him see her as not just a friend, she'd get him to herself and she'd make him HERS. Her decision made, but still feeling very shy, Hinata's back straightened and she marched toward her crush, determined, if still nervous.

Hinata approached him steadily, forcing her shattered nerves out of her mind, and came within arms length of him. She reached over and put a hesitant hand on his shoulder lightly.

Naruto

Naruto jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. The hand pulled back a little, not like the person was offended, just surprised by his sudden movement. He turned and found it was Hinata standing behind him.

"Oh, Hinata, it's you. Hi," he said to her, hoping she wouldn't be mad.

"Hi, Naruto. I'm sorry if I surprised you," she spoke quietly, but to both their surprise she didn't stutter.

"No, it's fine, Hinata, I was just thinking," he told her, hoping she would ask what was on his mind so he could tell someone. That might help him figure it out after all, but he didn't want to tell her if she didn't really care.

"I could tell you had something on your mind, Naruto. That's why I came over here. I wanted to find out what was wrong," she said, feeling more confident in herself than she had in years.

"Well, it's just that I've asked Sakura out so many times and she kept telling me no," he started, relieved to have someone to talk to about this. Hinata nodded, hanging on his every word, glad to just be talking to him. "A couple days ago, she made me promise her I wouldn't do it anymore." Hinata sighed, half in pity and half in relief. Naruto nodded. "Well, today when I saw her, I tried to ask her anyway, even though I promised I wouldn't..." his voice trailed off; he hesitated to tell her this part, but Hinata just sat there, watching him. He took a deep breath. "When I tried to ask her out, I couldn't. I opened my mouth to try, and I couldn't speak. It was like my throat closed up and I couldn't make myself say anything. I kept trying and I couldn't make myself say anything. I'm not sure what's going on with it, but it seems like I can't break my promise, even if I want to do it. I'm kind of worried, to be honest."

Hinata saw the look of fear on his face and she felt terrible about it. She thought about it for a few minutes, then a very devious thought came to her mind. "Have you tested it, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Hinata, wondering what she meant. Tested it? "What do you mean? How could I test it?"

She giggled mischievously. "Make a promise to someone and try to break it. If you can, then it's not that, but if you can't break it, then your promises are absolute, and you'll know."

Naruto sighed. He didn't really want to break his promises, just this one. "But why would I do that? I want to keep my promises."

Hinata smiled. That's one of the things she loved about him, his honesty. "Yes, I know, but don't you want to know?" she asked him. He thought a moment, then nodded. "Okay, so make a promise to someone, then try to break it."

He looked at her, wondering what kind of promise he could make that wouldn't hurt anyone to break it. "But if I break my promise, won't the one I made it to be hurt?"

Hinata smiled. "Usually, maybe, but if they know that's what you're doing, it won't bother them, right?"

Naruto smiled back, realizing what she meant. "Hey, you're right, Hinata! That's a great idea. But who could I do that to? I mean, who would be willing to help me like that?"

Hinata grinned. "I would, Naruto."

"Really?"

"Sure. Just promise me something and then try not to do it and see what happens. I'll know if you don't do it that it's just because of that, and if you do, we'll both know why."

"But I don't want to promise you anything I don't want to do, Hinata. I mean...I don't want to promise to do anything embarrassing or anything."

Hinata blushed, then giggled. "I wouldn't ask you to do anything embarrassing anyway, Naruto. And I hope what I have in mind would be something you'd at least enjoy."

Naruto looked at her. _She really is cute when she blushes_. Where in the world did that thought come from? He didn't know, but it was true. "Okay, Hinata, what do you have in mind?"

"Promise to take me out on a date tonight." She was flat-out stunned she didn't stutter saying that.

Naruto gasped. "You mean it? Hinata, do you really want that? I mean, I'd like to spend time with you, so you're right about that, I would enjoy it, but if I do try not to and I can't not, then we'd actually have to go through with it; so please, don't ask me for that promise unless you really want to go out with me."

Hinata blushed brighter than before. "I really do want that, Naruto. I've wanted to go out with you for a long time."

Naruto was surprised. Hinata wanted to go out with him? Well, that sure explained her red face all the time and her stuttering, didn't it? He chuckled, realizing just how much about Hinata this small piece of information explained. He reached over and took her hand in his gently. "All right, Hinata. Just please don't be offended if I don't show up tonight."

"I won't, Naruto, I promise. Just if you don't show up tonight, can we go out another time?" Wow, her confidence was certainly growing today, wasn't it? She smiled, glad to be able to talk to Naruto so easily.

Naruto smiled. "Sure Hinata. If I don't show up tonight, I'll take you out tomorrow, okay?" She nodded happily. "Okay, here goes. Hinata, I promise I'll take you out on a date tonight." She blushed; even though she knew what was going on, she was happy to hear him say that, regardless. She had wanted it for a long time, and now it was coming true. And even if he didn't show tonight, he would take her out! This was almost too good to be true.

"Okay, Naruto. I hope to see you tonight. And if not, I'll see you tomorrow in class," she told him, blushing like mad, but very happy inside.

"All right, Hinata," he sighed. "I'm not sure if I hope to see you tonight or not, but if I don't see you tonight, I look forward to taking you out tomorrow." They smiled at one another, then parted; they kept smiling at one another after that until the end of class, but neither said anything to the other.

After class, they met briefly and made "plans" to meet for their date (if Naruto couldn't stop himself) at Ichiraku's at six. Hinata agreed to wait for at least an hour in case he was able to slow himself but not stop himself.

Five O'clock; Naruto's Apartment

Naruto had gotten a shower, dressed in his best clothes (which weren't the best ever, but weren't bad), and was now just killing time. He knew he had to try to stay in the apartment. He had gotten his shower and dressed just in case. He had no intention of leaving, but he also wouldn't do anything to mess up his clothes, like try to grab something to stop himself or anything like that.

He chuckled, thinking of all the times he'd asked Sakura out and been shot down, and how today he'd practically been _asked out_ by Hinata. He shook his head, wondering how he'd never noticed the shy Hyuga. She really was a pretty girl, and to think she'd liked him all this time. He had to laugh at his own blindness. Well, it was time. If he was going to be on time, he had to leave in about five minutes. He sat comfortably on his couch, having no intention of leaving.

Hinata

She had left the Hyuga compound about ten minutes ago. She sighed, at peace with herself. She knew that even if Naruto didn't show up tonight, she'd have a date with him soon. Ever since he'd told her that, she'd been unable to stop smiling. They had planned to meet at six. It was about five till, and she was waiting at Ichiraku's for him, nervously pressing her fingers together, hoping he'd show up. On the other hand, she was almost hoping he wouldn't, simply so she'd know he was there because he wanted to be, not just because of his promise.

She sighed, shaking her head at herself. She'd just have to make this the best night of his life if he did show up. If she did, maybe, just maybe, she'd get a second date with him. She took a deep breath and nodded, yes, she WOULD make him HERS, damn it all. She checked the time; it must be six. She turned around and nearly jumped a foot in the air. There he was! He was standing right there, about five feet away.

"You came! I'm glad. I've been looking forward to this all day, Naruto," she told him, blushing like mad.

Naruto

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I came. I tried not to, but I couldn't stop myself," he shrugged. "It's all right, I wanted to see you anyway." She blushed at this. He smiled. "You're really pretty Hinata, and you look very nice tonight." She blushed deeper. "And you're really cute when you blush." She, of course, blushed all the more from this. He chuckled.

"I'm glad you're here and all, Naruto, but I don't want you to be with me tonight because you can't help it. I want you to be happy to be with me."

"I am happy to be with you, Hinata. Don't worry. I just tried not to come to see if I could stop, which I couldn't. But really, I wanted to come, honest."

She blushed like mad, then said softly, "Thank you, Naruto. That means a lot." She looked at him, shyly, then reached out her hand.

Naruto smiled, took her hand, and the two walked off together. After walking at random for about ten minutes, the two of them realized that they hadn't made any real plans for what they would _do_ on their date. They made small talk, but after a while, the two of them started laughing at how forgetful they had been.

Naruto was the first to calm down, then he asked, "What would you like to do, Hinata?"

"It doesn't matter to me, Naruto. I'm just glad to be with you." Saying this, she leaned her head on his shoulder; she was as surprised as he was at how daring she was being, but when he didn't object, she stayed that way. They both were enjoying the closeness.

Naruto thought for a while, then made a decision. "Come on, Hinata. I want to show you my special place." She blushed, realizing he was showing her something private and important to him, then she let him lead her by the hand. Soon, they were standing on top of the carving of the Fourth Hokage. The view of the village and the setting sun was spectacular. She sighed, thinking how romantic it was. He smiled, glad she liked it. "I come up here and watch the sunset a lot, when I just want to be alone. It's so nice up here, quiet, peaceful."

"It really is beautiful, Naruto. Thank you for showing me this."

"It's only the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he said, smiling. She looked at him in confusion. "Your smile is the first." She blushed wildly, smiling. He grinned. "I love making you blush. It's so cute when you do." He pulled her to him, with his arm around her shoulders. She sighed, feeling wanted for the first time in a long time. She laid her head on his shoulder, smiling.

After the sun set, Naruto walked Hinata home, happy with her, loving how close he felt to her. As they parted, he decided to ask her. "Hinata, could I take you out again sometime?"

"I'd love that, Naruto. Tonight was really nice, but maybe next time we should make a plan." He looked sheepish and she giggled. "But really, I had a great time tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"All right, Hinata. And thank you for letting me do this tonight. I guess I know now that I can't break my promises." She nodded. He came over and hugged her. "Good night, Hinata. I'll talk to you tomorrow." And he was gone.

Hinata

As Naruto hugged her, her blush came back in full force. Of course, she hugged him back on sheer instinct. After he was gone, she went into the compound and straight to her room. She got in, got into her night clothes, sat on her bed, and replayed the night in her mind. She had gone on a date with Naruto, he'd asked her for another date, and he had HUGGED HER! She fainted, which turned into sleep after a short time.

Naruto

He headed home quickly, happy to have had a good time with Hinata, but now he was even more confused about this whole promise thing. He got home, got out of his dress clothes and into his sleep clothes, laid down in his bed, and thought long and hard about his problem. He decided he'd go and talk to the Hokage the next day. After all, if anyone would know what was up with this, the old man would, right? He laid back, smiling, glad to have made that decision. He closed his eyes and drifted into a sweet dream of Hinata.

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><p><strong>Read, review. Please and thank you.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Honest Curse: Sean-Style  
>Chapter 2<p>

Naruto awoke slowly the next morning. His sleep, while deep and satisfying, had been filled with dreams of Hinata that made him wonder where his mind was. Images of himself touching her body and doing things he'd never even heard of filled his mind. They were nonsensical to him, so he shook his head and ignored them. After a quick shower and breakfast, he dressed and headed for the Hokage's office to see if he could talk to him before class. The old man was likely the only one who would know what was going on with him.

He made his way through the streets of Konoha as the sky was brightening with the dawn. He smiled as the sun warmed his face and the air seemed to sparkle with the moisture still hanging there. This was always his favorite time of day. The village seemed to shine, it wasn't too cold, and no one was out yet to bother him. He sighed, thinking of the issues with the villagers he'd had over the years. He shook his head; that wasn't important right now. He smiled again, breathing in the cool morning air, reveling in the beginning of a new day. A few more minutes and he was at the Hokage's Tower. He looked up at it, grinning as he thought, not for the first time, that one day this would be his place.

Naruto went into the tower and asked one of the secretaries if he could speak to the Hokage. One of them pressed a button and asked. The old man said to send him up, so Naruto went to the old man's door and knocked.

"Come in, Naruto," a voice from within said. Naruto opened the door and went in, slowly. He wasn't his normal self, of course; he had too much on his mind for that. He bowed to the Hokage, who seemed surprised. The old man recovered himself, and asked, "What can I do for you this morning, Naruto?"

Naruto smiled. He always liked it when the old man called him by name for some reason. Foolish maybe, but he still enjoyed it. "Well, old man, I was hoping to ask you about something. I don't know if it's important or not, but I've discovered something."

"Oh? And what would that be?" The old man was genuinely curious.

"Well, you know, as few do, that I've already decided my ninja way is going to be that I'll never back down and never go back on my word." Sarutobi nodded, remembering when Naruto had first told him this. Naruto proceeded to tell him about what had happened with Sakura and Hinata. Sarutobi listened, slowly realizing that the time had come to tell Naruto his secret. "...so I figured out that I can't break my promises, even if I wanted to. So I was wondering if you knew why," Naruto was saying.

"I don't know really, Naruto, though I do have an idea. And I know a way to find out for sure. But I'll need you to do something for me." Naruto looked at the old man, who was still smiling somewhat, though Naruto thought the Hokage's eyes held a devious twinkle. "There's only one person who can really test my theory. And I only have a vague idea of where she is. So I'll need you and two of your fellow students to go find her; you'll have a Jounin supervising you, of course, but it'll just be the four of you, and you can all consider this your first mission."

Naruto grinned, then thought about this. "Wait, why would you want a bunch of academy students to do this?"

Sarutobi grinned and burst out laughing. "Well thought out, my boy. And it's not a bunch, it's three, but mainly you. I want you to find her and bring her back. As to why, I believe you're the only one who would be able to bring her back. She's got a bit of a grudge with the village, which is why she's out there on her own and not considered a rogue. I let her go. But now, it seems, we need her, and I fully believe you can bring her back."

"All right," Naruto said after a moment. "But who would go with me?"

Sarutobi sat back and pondered that a moment. "Why don't you tell me who you think you'd work well with, Naruto?" he suggested, curious what Naruto would say to that.

Naruto sat still, closed his eyes a moment, seemed to come to a decision, nodded, then thought a long time. "Well, I know I'd work well with Hinata. I can't come up with a third member though. What do you think?"

Sarutobi pondered Naruto's choice. Eventually he nodded. Yes, Naruto and Hinata would make a good pair. And for a third? That was indeed a tough choice. He chuckled, thinking of a few people he could put with them. He dismissed Sasuke out of hand, that would certainly not work. He considered Sakura for a moment, then shook his head. That was just asking for trouble. He considered a few more. Ino would probably send Hinata deeper in her shell than she was now, what with her flamboyant manner. Choji might be a good choice, except that Hinata would carry the taijutsu position on the team. No, they needed someone with good enough control to work genjutsu eventually. That left Kiba, Shikamaru, and Shino. Kiba fell in the same category as Choji, so that left either Shikamaru or Shino.

"Well, from what I see, your best choices would be either Shikamaru or Shino," Sarutobi told Naruto, who smiled and nodded.

"I thought the same thing. But I couldn't decide which of them would be better," Naruto said. Sarutobi was somewhat surprised that Naruto had come to the same conclusion as he had himself.

The Hokage pressed a button on his desk and spoke into the intercom. "Could you send Kakashi to me, please?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage," came the reply.

Sarutobi focused on Naruto again. "Okay, once Kakashi gets here, I'll explain the situation to him and the two of you, along with Hinata, can choose your third member. Either Shikamaru or Shino would be excellent choices, so I'll leave it to you three to decide." Naruto nodded, then the two waited for Kakashi.

Naruto had a thought then, while they waited for Kakashi to arrive. "Oh, you said this would be our first mission. So does that mean we'll be getting paid for this?"

Sarutobi chuckled, then nodded. "In fact, I'm assigning this as an A-rank mission, so you'll be paid rather handsomely for it. The high rank is only due to the fact that she may not wish to come back. Don't worry, your lives will be in no real danger." He had carefully considered that particular detail. After all, Tsunade wouldn't really hurt them; at least, not too badly. Plus, she was a medical expert, so even if she did hurt them, she'd heal them.

After about ten minutes, Kakashi appeared in the room in a puff of smoke. Neither Naruto nor Sarutobi seemed surprised to see him. He bowed to the Hokage. "You called for me, Lord Hokage?"

Sarutobi smiled and nodded. "Yes, Kakashi. I have a mission for you."

"What is the mission, sir?" Kakashi was somewhat surprised to be being told this with Naruto there, but he didn't question it.

"Naruto here has a rather peculiar condition..." Sarutobi proceeded to tell Kakashi the particulars of Naruto's situation and the mission to retrieve Tsunade as well as the conundrum of the selection of a third team member.

Kakashi thought about this information very carefully, realizing what this third team member selection would likely mean. He turned to Naruto. "You stay here, I'll retrieve Hinata and send her here. Then I'll pull aside Shikamaru and Shino and talk to each of them. The three of you can listen in," here he indicated the crystal ball on Sarutobi's desk. "And when I get back, you, Hinata, and I can make our choice. Fair?" Naruto and the Hokage both nodded and Kakashi disappeared in another puff of smoke, just as he had appeared.

Naruto chuckled. "Show-off." The Hokage chuckled as well. They both knew Kakashi was a high-level ninja, but still, it was rather odd for the ex-ANBU to come and go like that. He must have been showing off, though even Sarutobi couldn't guess why.

Ten minutes later, Hinata arrived. She had been surprised to get a summons from the Hokage when she was on her way to class and even more so to find Naruto already there. Not that she was complaining of course. She came in and walked over by Naruto, blushing a little. Naruto put a hand on her arm for a moment to comfort her, then the two approached the Hokage's desk together. Sarutobi cast a jutsu and the ball in front of them displayed to all three an image of Kakashi opening a classroom door and requesting to speak with Shikamaru. Iruka seemed reluctant but agreed. Kakashi walked with Shikamaru to a nearby room, which was empty; he sat down in one seat and gestured for Shikamaru to do the same.

With Kakashi

Kakashi was thinking hard about how to approach this with the lazy boy. He knew there was more to the kid than he let on, but Kakashi was at a loss as to how to bring it out of him. He sat and thought a moment, then said, "I guess you're wondering why I pulled you out here."

Shikamaru thought a moment, then chuckled. "Well I noticed both Naruto and Hinata are missing. I'm guessing it has something to do with them."

Kakashi barely stifled a gasp. He was sure now that there was more to this kid than met the eye. He nodded. "Yes, it does." He thought a moment, not sure how much to reveal just yet, then said, "The reason those two are out is that they, along with me, are being sent on a mission. The thing is, we need a third member to their team. You are being considered for the position."

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm sure anything involving those two would be quite a drag." He thought a moment. "I can see that they and I would work well together. I'm not exactly a genjutsu type, but I am pretty good at strategy, another weak point those two share to an extent. I know Naruto can form strategies under fire, but he does it in the heat of the moment; he needs a cool head to balance that. And Hinata, while she can think of how to get herself close to her enemy, doesn't think of much beyond that. The two of them need a strategist, and I am that."

Kakashi nodded, somewhat surprised with the kid's clarity. "All right, Shikamaru. That will do. You may return to class now. And could you send Shino to talk to me, please?"

Shikamaru sighed. "This is such a drag, but sure." He got up and walked out of the room. The three viewers looked at each other, all three thinking the same thing, namely that this kid was indeed insightful, but he would probably slow them down a bit with his laziness. After a few moments, they all saw Shino walk in and sit down in front of Kakashi. With his dark glasses and high collar, it was near impossible to see any of the boy's face.

Shino looked at Kakashi. "I suppose this has something to do with Naruto and Hinata's absence today." Kakashi, surprised for the second time, nodded. "And I suppose that the two of them need a third companion for something, and you are trying to see who would suit the position." Kakashi was getting used to being surprised by these kids now. He nodded again. "And you asked for me to see if I would be good for it; so, can you tell me what's going on?"

Kakashi thought a moment, then said, "Well, the two of them, along with either you or Shikamaru, and myself, will be going on a mission. Yes, I will be the leader, but the three of us will be deciding whether it's you or Shikamaru we take. Shikamaru seemed like he could do it, but he seemed more or less unwilling to work at it. What about you, Shino?"

Shino thought a moment. "Well, if you chose me, it would only be logical for me to work hard at doing it, so that's what I would do. You are aware of my clan's... special techniques, I assume?" Kakashi nodded, and the boy continued, "That said, my abilities would work well for tracking or seeking out a hidden goal. Also, I have decent long-range skills. I know both Naruto and Hinata are short-range fighters so that would cover a glaring weakness those two share. Was there anything else you were looking for in particular?"

Kakashi sat still a moment, absorbing Shino's words. "Well, we were kind of hoping to get a genjutsu type in the team. Naruto specializes in ninjutsu and obviously Hinata is a taijutsu type. Have you considered genjutsu as a possibility for yourself?"

"Well, no, but I will admit I have the control for that. If my team required genjutsu, it would be logical for me to learn it. I will leave that in the open. Anything else I can answer for you?"

"No, I think that will do, Shino. You may go back to class now. And thank you." Shino stood, bowed slightly, and left. Kakashi then disappeared and reappeared in the Hokage's office. Naruto shook his head, Hinata jumped a little and eeped in surprise, and the Hokage just smiled at the former ANBU.

It was Kakashi who broke the silence. "Well, guys, what do you all think?"

Naruto thought quietly a moment and was about to speak when Hinata spoke up. "It seems to me that both of them are smart enough to help us. Shino seems to be the only one of the two with motivation, however. He also seems to be the only one who could supply us with genjutsu at some point. Personally, I think Shino would be a better teammate for us of those two," she spoke quietly, but with confidence. She blushed when Naruto looked at her thoughtfully, then smiled when he nodded his agreement.

"I tend to agree with Hinata," Naruto said. "Both seem intelligent, but I fear Shikamaru's laziness would slow us down. I doubt either would do anything intentionally to hinder us, but Shikamaru would, because of his nature, do so. Shino wouldn't do that, I don't think. He said himself he would work hard to benefit us, whereas Shikamaru seemed unwilling to work at all, never mind work hard."

Kakashi chuckled. "It would seem my opinion doesn't matter much. Since you two agree, I mean. But for the record, I'm with you. I'd choose Shino as well."

The Hokage smiled. "I'm glad you three came to a choice so easily. I'll notify the Aburames of this development, as well as the Hyugas for you, of course, Hinata." He stopped a moment, then pressed his intercom button. "Send Shino Aburame to my office please." He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he turned back to the three in his office. "Just so you know, if this mission is successful, the four of you will be a team after you all graduate from the academy." He turned his attention to Naruto at this. "Assuming you DO graduate, that is." Naruto knew what he meant. Naruto had tried and failed the final test before, after all. He gulped, then nodded.

About that time, Shino walked into the office. As usual, his face was covered between his collar and his dark glasses. He bowed to the Hokage, then spoke. "I suppose I've been chosen for your third teammate then? I see no other reason for me to be here."

Kakashi nodded. "All three of us agreed that you would be the ideal teammate for us, Shino. Do you accept?"

Shino nodded. "As the three of you have agreed that I would be the best for you, it would be highly illogical for me to refuse. I was told that we were to have a mission. What are the details?" Hinata was curious about this as well, she hadn't been told either as yet.

The Hokage smiled. "The four of you are being sent on a retrieval mission." He held up a picture of a woman who appeared to be in her twenties with blond hair in pigtails and a green spot on her forehead. "This is the lady Tsunade. She is a medical genius, insanely strong, and has been wandering on her own with her apprentice, Shizune, for many, many years. As luck would have it, we got a report of her location just days ago, so we have an idea of where she is. That said, she has a habit of disappearing without a trace for long periods of time, so we need to move on this information immediately. As such, you four should leave within half an hour." He handed a folder to Kakashi. "This contains all the information we have on her recent whereabouts and the mission details. Now go!" The four bowed and left, Kakashi in a puff of smoke, the other three through the door. "Oh, Naruto," Sarutobi said just before Naruto left.

"Yes, old man?" Naruto said, grinning his "gotta love me" grin.

Sarutobi chuckled. In spite of himself, he liked having Naruto call him that. It made him feel close to the boy. He got up and went to a small alcove nearby, got out a large scroll, took it to his desk, and opened it. He got out a smaller scroll and started to copy onto the smaller one. After a few minutes, he handed the smaller scroll to Naruto. "Naruto, do not show this to anyone. Your possession of it is an S-rank secret. Got me?" Naruto nodded, a serious look on his face. "That scroll holds the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I know you have trouble forming normal clones due to your high chakra levels. This jutsu requires less control and more chakra, so I suspect you'll have far less trouble getting it down. And it will suffice for the final exam."

Naruto bowed. "Thanks, old man, I'll see to it that this is put to good use," he said, then rose and left. The Hokage thought about the kids he'd just sent on this mission. Naruto really was the only one who could bring Tsunade back, he believed. Hinata would make a damn good teammate for Naruto. Her quietness would calm Naruto down, while his confidence would bring her out of her shell. Yes, those two would be good for one another. And Shino would complement the team perfectly. Along with Kakashi as their leader, those four would make one hell of a team. He chuckled, thinking that even he wouldn't want to meet those four in battle, even if he were in his prime.

Naruto went home, gathered up his ninja tools (kunai, shuriken, a few scrolls, things like that) and headed out. The team was meeting at the gate, so he headed there. He was the first one to arrive. He had been standing there, wondering what to do to pass time, when Shino walked up.

Naruto gave a friendly wave. "Hey, Shino!" Shino just nodded. Naruto grinned. Shino didn't seem bothered by him, but didn't really react to him either. "Is something wrong, Shino?"

"Not at all, Naruto. I'm here as requested. You, Hinata, and I are now a team. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're so quiet, and I'm trying to be friendly. You didn't seem to react at all, so I thought maybe you didn't like me or something."

Shino thought about that. He'd have to get used to people thinking with their emotions, he supposed. "Naruto, you are a comrade. Whatever else you may be, you will not cease to be that. Therefore, I will not abandon or betray you. I don't know if you're aware of this, but my clan, like the Inuzukas, value loyalty above all else. You are now a comrade to me personally, so I and my clan will remain loyal to you, no matter what else happens."

Naruto smiled; this was the first person who had ever said anything like that to him. "Thank you, Shino, that means a lot to me. I promise I'll always protect you as well, so long as I am able."

As Naruto was saying this, Hinata walked up. "Better be careful, Naruto. You know how your promises work."

Naruto smiled at the shy girl. "I know, Hinata. And by the way, I promise the same to you. I'll even put my life on the line to protect you, both of you, if that's what it takes."

Hinata blushed and Shino nodded. Shino said, "I believe you just proved yourself more than worthy of the loyalty of both your teammates. I hope sincerely the two of us will prove as worthy of yours as you are of ours."

Hinata grinned. "You're right, Shino. We must both work hard to make ourselves worthy of Naruto's loyalty. And yes, he is more than worthy of ours."

The three teammates moved a little closer to one another, almost unconsciously. Naruto reached out a hand and Hinata took it, smiling shyly. Shino still stood straight, but he took a step or two toward his teammates as well. Naruto smiled happily. He had true comrades now. He wasn't used to this, but he liked it. For Hinata's part, she was blushing and smiling happily at the thought of Naruto being so loyal to her.

Kakashi arrived a few minutes later to find his team standing near one another, Naruto and Hinata's hands linked. He grinned behind his mask, thinking this would indeed be an interesting team to lead. "Let's get going team. We don't have a lot of time. Tsunade could easily move on, and we need to get to where she is before she does."

Some 50 Miles Away

Tsunade was sitting down at a slot machine. She'd been having a losing streak of late, for which she was somewhat glad. It meant her luck in other things would be better. But at the same time, it annoyed her. She never walked away from a losing streak. She dropped a coin into the slot machine in front of her and pulled the lever. The slots spun and started to stop. The first slot showed a 7.

Team Kakashi

Kakashi took off in the direction of an outpost town not far from Konoha that was fairly well-known for its casinos. He was moving fast, but his team was able to keep up with him fairly easily. Naruto was running and reading a scroll at the same time. It was a fairly nondescript ninjutsu scroll from the looks of it. Yet, Naruto's rapt attention seemed to say it was something special. None of the team asked him; they were all too focused on the road ahead of them.

Tsunade

Tsunade's slot machine was still spinning. The second slot came to a rest. Another 7 was displayed. The lines above and below the 7's lined up perfectly as well. The chances of that were astronomical, but it meant nothing if the final slot didn't match up. She tried not to show her fear on her face.

Team Kakashi

They were about ten miles out when Kakashi started to get curious. Naruto was forming a single hand-sign behind the scroll from time to time and focusing his chakra, then releasing it. Kakashi wasn't sure, but something about what he was doing seemed familiar.

Tsunade

The final slot fell into place. It showed another 7. And the two lines around it were matches as well. The machine spat out several coins; in one shot, she had made up for almost half of her losings that day. She knew she should walk away, but she couldn't resist. She had to have another go at it. She plopped another coin in the machine and pulled the lever again.

Team Kakashi

Kakashi fell back to where Naruto was. "What's that you're working on?"

"Oh, just something the Hokage gave me before we left. I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but I can't tell you anything else. The Hokage made it an S-rank secret that I have this."

Kakashi nodded his understanding and moved back up to where he had been. Neither of them noticed Hinata activate her Byakugan.

Tsunade

The first slot fell into place. Yet again, it displayed at 7. Tsunade was getting worried now. If she had suddenly started a winning streak, something was wrong. That's always how it was; when she started to win at her gambling, her luck in other things went to hell within moments. The other two spinning slots held all her attention; she felt they were going to tell her destiny.

Team Kakashi

Naruto kept working at it. He was getting close, he could feel it. He had realized after a short time working at it that this jutsu was a Jounin level one. The amount of chakra it took, along with dividing his chakra between himself and the clone, told him it was easily that. He almost had it down, the only thing stopping him was there were three hand-signs, and one of them was all he thought he really needed. He chuckled to himself, realizing this jutsu had originally probably had a dozen signs or so, and he thought he could do it with one? He eventually nodded, realizing the only really necessary sign was the cross shape made with the first two fingers of each hand. He formed the sign and tried again. He'd been trying to make clones all along and there were several failures laying in the woods along the road, out of sight of his team, or so he thought.

Hinata had seen them. Naruto was doing something and clones kept appearing. They weren't effective, but she could tell they had chakra in them. Were they solid? She wasn't sure, but she suspected they were. What in the world was he doing? She'd never heard of a jutsu like that. It had to be at least Jounin level. She decided that since she had Naruto's loyalty, she would give him hers as well and not say anything. She'd just ask him about it later. She kept her Byakugan active though. She wanted to see what would happen.

Tsunade

The second slot fell into place. A 7. She shuddered. That didn't surprise her. That left her destiny in the hands of the final slot. Her breathing was getting heavier.

Behind her, her apprentice, Shizune, was chanting "Seven, seven, seven...!"

Team Kakashi

Naruto chuckled. He'd done it. That last clone was effective. He dispelled it and had a momentary image of a tree; he thought about it a moment and realized that was what the clone had seen. So, he got their memories huh? That would come in handy. He grinned. Putting the scroll away, he promised himself he'd thank the Hokage for giving him that. Now he'd pass the finals, no problem.

Tsunade

The final slot fell into place, revealing a third 7 for the second time. As the coins fell, Tsunade panicked. She had to get out of this town, RIGHT NOW. She gathered her winnings, which were well over three times what she'd come into the town with. She knew she would be celebrating if she was anyone else, but she also knew her luck was going to go to hell really fast. She ran out of the casino and to her hotel and up to her room and started to pack.

Team Kakashi

The four of them were about a mile out of the town now. Kakashi had spent the last few minutes explaining to his team what to expect from Tsunade. He had told them she was likely to be frequenting casinos, that she would likely not be too happy to see them, and that she would likely run as opposed to attacking them. Naruto chuckled. This could be fun. They ran into the small town and started looking for the blond lady in question. They dove over a wall and there, right in front of them, holding two suitcases, with a brunette holding a pig behind her, was Tsunade.

Tsunade

She was running out of her hotel and toward the wall of the town when four people, one she thought looked familiar and three kids, appeared in front of her. She looked over the kids and saw a Hyuga girl, a boy who looked just like Shibi Aburame, and a blond kid. She looked at this last one again; he was the spitting image of the Yondaime Hokage! She'd heard rumors that he had a kid, and she'd even heard rumors that he'd used his own son to seal the Kyuubi. Considering the chakra this kid had and what he looked like, she figured it must be true.

Tsunade looked at the adult of the group again. "Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan eye. It's been a while."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Several years, Lady Tsunade. And I see you recognize the ones with me. This is Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Naruto Uzumaki. We have been sent here on an A-rank mission to find you and bring you back to Konoha. We need your help."

Tsunade frowned, thinking of all the times she'd sworn she'd never go back there. "And just what do you need me for? I'm sure there's nothing I can do that no one else in that run-down village can do."

Naruto growled. He didn't much care who this was, he wasn't going to just stand by and let her insult the village like that. He ran forward, a fist clenched, and swung hard at Tsunade. She stopped his swing with an open hand, but she was surprised by how much power was behind the attack. Naruto looked up at her, anger flashing in his eyes. "Don't insult my village," he snarled.

"What's your deal, kid? You're not even a genin yet, so why would you care so much?"

"Because I'm going to be Hokage one day! That is my dream! And I'll do whatever it takes to make it come true!" he yelled at her. He'd be damned if he let someone like this insult his village.

Tsunade froze. She'd heard those words before. First Nawaki, her beloved brother, then Dan, her beloved, both had had that dream. She felt herself smiling as she realized their dream was alive in this boy. She looked at him with a different look on her face, one of fondness. But she decided to have a little fun with the kid. "You think you're worthy to be Hokage? Fine, then, prove it to me."

"How?" Naruto asked, still snarling a little, but somewhat surprised at the same time by her change of tone.

Tsunade grinned. "There are two major requirements to be a Hokage. One is the willingness to protect his village and lay his life on the line for it. The other is the ability to perform the jutsu necessary to perform that duty." Naruto nodded for her to continue. "Show me one Jounin level jutsu, and I'll believe you're worthy of being a Hokage some day. What's more, you do that, and I'll come back to the village with you four and do whatever it is you need me to do."

Naruto pulled his fist from her hand and walked over to Kakashi. He gestured him to bend down, then whispered into his ear. Kakashi nodded, then Naruto went back to Tsunade. "One Jounin level jutsu you said, right? That's all?" Tsunade nodded. Naruto didn't say anything, instead he formed a sign where only Tsunade could see it. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" he yelled out. Suddenly thousands of pops were heard and the entire town was filled with Naruto clones. Tsunade reached out and touched one, expecting her hand to go through it; instead it was solid. Hinata and Shino were doing the same thing. All three were shocked by this. Kakashi just smiled proudly at his student. He was surprised to find he really thought of Naruto as his student already, but he was still proud of the blond.

Tsunade looked down. That was a gamble there, and sure enough she'd lost. She chuckled, realizing this was her bad luck. She looked at Naruto and nodded. "All right, I'll come back." Naruto dispelled his clones, grinning. The six people (Team Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shizune) and one pig all immediately turned to head back to Konoha.

Two Hours Later, Konoha

Naruto and his team along with their mission objective (Tsunade) were standing in front of the Hokage. The old man smiled at his former student. "It's good to see you again, Tsunade."

She bowed a bit to the old man. "It's good to see you as well, Sarutobi-sensei. Though this village could live or die and I wouldn't care," she said the last part rather icily. "I'm only here because I told the kid I would if he could show me a Jounin level jutsu, and he did." She gave her old sensei a glare and the man just nodded.

"Of course he did, I'm sure he was practicing that one his whole way to that town to find you. I'm not surprised he mastered it. However, that particular detail is an S-rank secret, all of you understand that? It will only become open knowledge after the genin exams. Once he's a genin, I don't care who knows, but until then it's S-rank information, got me?"

All four people in front of him nodded. Then Tsunade said, "What is it I'm needed for here, anyway?"

Sarutobi indicated Naruto, then proceeded to explain his situation involving promises to both Tsunade and Shino. "We need you to see if you can figure out a reason for this. I have a hunch, and I want you to see if I'm right." She looked at her old teacher and he ran a finger along a vein in his arm, indicating blood; she nodded, understanding what he meant.

"All right, then, I'll do it." She took Naruto by the arm and led him from the room.

"Naruto, come back for your pay after she examines you." The boy nodded and followed Tsunade. Sarutobi then turned to the other three and handed each one an envelope. "In these are your vouchers for your pay. Kakashi, show them how to collect on them, all right? And show Naruto as well after Tsunade's done with him." The ex-ANBU nodded, then took his students and led them out to get their pay.

Naruto

Naruto was wondering what was going on as Tsunade examined him. He felt her chakra going into him and he knew she was using some kind of medical jutsu, but he had no idea what she was doing. He didn't ask, just sat still and waited, hoping she'd have an answer for him.

Tsunade

Tsunade was examining Naruto's blood at a cellular level. She knew she had to check carefully if she was going to find a bloodline, which was Sarutobi's guess as to what was going on here. She looked a little closer, then suddenly she gasped. This blood! It couldn't be! But his name... and his appearance... He really was their son! She shuddered. Minato and Kushina... and to think their blood had mixed like this.

She looked at Naruto. "Naruto, I've found the answer. You are going to be incapable of breaking any promise you make, unless you are released from that promise by the person you made it to."

He looked at her. "What do you mean? Why?"

"It's a bloodline. Yakusoku, I'll call it. It means promise. Your bloodline makes it so that any promise you make that you are mentally and physically capable of keeping, you MUST keep. Be very careful what promises you make, and remember, it will be the same with any kids you might have in the future."

Naruto

Naruto thought about that, then nodded, remembering the promises he'd made to Hinata and Shino. He didn't mind those promises. He'd do exactly what he said. He would lay his life on the line for Hinata or Shino; then he thought about other promises he could make, such as being faithful to the village. Then he realized that he really couldn't promise that. What if the Hokage was an evil person? Would he still follow that Hokage? He wouldn't, he realized. That being said, he'd have to promise something else; he'd think about that later. For now... "I'll be careful. Thank you, Tsunade."

She nodded. "I'll see you later, Naruto." He nodded and left; he went back to the Hokage's office to get his pay. After Kakashi had showed him how to collect, he went home. It was late and he'd had a long hard day. He got dressed for bed and laid down; he was asleep within seconds.

Tsunade

Tsunade went to the Hokage's office after Naruto left. She told him what she'd found, and the two of them began drawing up the paperwork to register a new bloodline; that done, Tsunade went to her ancestral home, which was now hers, and went to her old room and to bed herself. Shizune was there with her, naturally. She hated to admit it, but it felt good to be back there. She slept, dreaming of the past and the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Honest Curse: Sean-Style  
>Chapter 3<p>

Upon awakening, Naruto's first thought was Hinata. As had happened several times now, Naruto had dreamed of her, those same nonsensical dreams of him touching her body and doing weird things to her. As usual, he shook his head to clear the thoughts from his mind, but this time he noticed his body had reacted to the dreams. This confused him even more than the other, so, in typical Naruto fashion, he put the occurrence out of his mind. Little did he know Hinata had been having similar dreams of him.

Hinata was waking up about the same time Naruto was. She had a slight nosebleed from her dreams. She was used to that, so she just wiped her nose and went to get her shower. As she was getting ready for the day, she was reliving her dreams in her mind and giggling like the closet pervert she was. She'd never act on her dreams, of course, but the dreams themselves were natural, she knew that. She remembered when she had talked to one of her aunts the first time she had a dream like that, about a year ago. The aunt had told her it was natural and not to worry about it, just to "enjoy the glow" as she put it. Hinata wasn't sure what that meant, but she guessed reliving the dream like she did qualified. Then she had a thought; she was going out with Naruto now. Maybe someday, these dreams of hers could come true. Not likely. She chuckled to herself. Even if she was dating Naruto, things like that weren't likely. She shrugged and enjoyed her shower.

Naruto, meanwhile, had showered, dressed, and was out his door on his way to the Hokage's office. He had a promise to himself to fulfill. He figured he better do that before he went to class today. As he approached the Hokage's office, where he had a standing invitation of sorts (the Hokage had told him he could come in whenever he wanted,) he heard voices coming from within. He listened.

"I've chosen you as my successor. There is no one better for the position than you," Sarutobi's voice said. Naruto wondered who was there with the old man; he didn't have to wait long.

"I decline," answered Tsunade's voice. Naruto decided that was the best time to make his entrance, so he opened the door. Sarutobi turned at the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, Naruto, what are you doing here?" The old man asked. Naruto smiled at him.

"I just wanted to thank you for that item you gave me before I left on that mission. It really helped. Hell, without it, I wouldn't have been able to complete the mission at all," Naruto said. Then he turned to Tsunade. "And I think you would make a great Hokage, Tsunade." With that, Naruto turned and left the office, chuckling at the shocked look on Tsunade's face.

Ten minutes later, Naruto was standing outside the Hyuga compound, waiting for Hinata to come out. He wanted to surprise the shy girl by meeting her and walking her to class. He was standing there waiting for her when he got a sudden idea. He chuckled, and a second later a puff of smoke surrounded him.

When Hinata came out of her family home's main gate, she heard a small whimper. She turned and saw an adorable black-and-white puppy sitting on the sidewalk looking up at her. She smiled and bent down to pet the puppy a moment, then got up and headed toward the academy; she didn't want to be late. The puppy followed her. She looked back at him in surprise. She didn't really think it would go so well if she showed up in class with a dog. She tried to shoo the puppy away, but it wouldn't go. She finally gave up and just ignored the little creature. She was walking along when suddenly it appeared between her feet. She stopped so as not to kick it or trip over it. It looked up at her, and she could have sworn it was grinning. Then a puff of smoke appeared where the puppy was sitting and Hinata got quite a surprise.

Naruto appeared where the puppy had been. The way they were, when he transformed back, he had Hinata on his shoulders, her legs in front of him. Hinata shrieked in surprise, then realized what had happened and smiled. Naruto smiled up at her.

"Good morning, Hinata," he said, chuckling. The pretty girl blushed, her face bright red from both her sudden height and her surprise at finding herself on Naruto's shoulders.

"G-Good morning, Naruto," she said, smiling and blushing.

"Hinata, you really should smile more. You're really pretty when you do," he told her, which of course made her blush even deeper. "And that blush of yours is just adorable." Hinata gasped and blushed even deeper. Naruto saw she was about to faint. "Hinata, don't faint. You'd hurt yourself if you fell from up there."

Hinata realized he was right and put all her effort into staying awake. "So anyway, what are you doing here, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled. He knew Hinata was trying to stay awake and talking would distract her. "I decided to surprise you and walk you to class today. Then while I was waiting I decided to surprise you with that transformation. Then I had the idea to come back so you'd be up on my shoulders like you are. I just thought it would be fun, and your reaction was worth it." He was smiling as he talked and Hinata was blushing as she thought about how handsome he was.

Hinata nodded. "This has been a good surprise, Naruto. But could you put me down now?" Naruto smiled, got down on his knees and set her feet on the ground. She stepped off him, then had a realization, namely that his head had been against her crotch that whole time. It made her think of some of the things he had done to her in her dreams, which prompted her to blush, get a nosebleed, and faint. Naruto caught her, chuckled, and lifted her into his arms so he could carry her to class. He smiled. He could get used to having her this close to him. It was nice. That thought made his body react the same way it had reacted to his dreams that morning. Naruto blushed, embarrassed with his body's reaction, shook his head, and walked the rest of the way to the academy.

Just as they were arriving, Hinata awoke. She found herself in Naruto's arms. Hinata gasped. Naruto smiled and set her down so she wouldn't faint again. She smiled; he took her hand in his and the two walked into class together, hands still linked.

Naruto sat with Hinata that day, of course. The two of them focused as much as they could on the class, though both of them found it hard given the proximity of the other. Hinata kept blushing from a combination of the reality and her dreams, and Naruto's mind kept going back to his own weird dreams, which he still hadn't figured out a meaning for. So it was that neither of them could really focus on their lessons. By the time the afternoon came and the class went outside for sparring, both Naruto and Hinata were as tense as a spring, coiled and ready to snap. Iruka had noticed the tension between them, but he had no idea what was going on. He shrugged. He had a solution, regardless.

"All right, first spar, Naruto vs. Hinata," Iruka stated. Naruto and Hinata looked at one another, thought a moment, grinned, and nodded. The two walked to the sparring area and got into their individual taijutsu stances. Hinata's was the Gentle Fist stance, slightly modified. Naruto's looked like a standard fighting stance, one fist in front of him, the other extended behind, his feet shoulder-width apart, one just a bit ahead of the other. Iruka thought it looked like a style he hadn't seen in years, but he shook that off. "Begin," he said.

Hinata grinned, thinking with that odd stance of his, Naruto would be an easy target for her Gentle Fist. Of course, she wouldn't use chakra on her strikes; she and Naruto would never really hurt one another. She knew he was aware of her style and how it worked, so she knew he would act accordingly if she hit him. For instance, if she hit his shoulder, she knew he'd stop using his arm. Similarly, if she hit his hip, he'd let that leg go limp. So really, she just had to hit him four times. So it was that she rushed at her crush, hands ahead of her ready to plant strikes on him in certain key points. Naruto's response shocked her, however.

As Hinata rushed forward, her hand moved for Naruto's left shoulder. His right hand moved forward and simply pushed her wrist aside. Hinata's momentum carried her past him, causing her to stumble. Both she and Naruto knew that this was a prime opportunity for him to sweep her legs. That's why he put his leg just a bit aside of her, showing that he could have done so, but he didn't. Iruka, watching Naruto's movement, realized the style he was looking at WAS that one he hadn't seen in years. But how had Naruto come by it? He shook his head, then, realizing that both Naruto and Hinata were holding back. Naruto's leg sweep missed on purpose, but Hinata still mocked stumbling as if he had hit her.

Iruka grinned at the antics of his two students; to the other students, this probably looked like a very tense spar, but he could tell neither had really hit the other at all. Yet they were both showing their skills. A true spar between friends, he realized. He returned his attention to the spar.

Naruto came at Hinata from behind as she acted like she stumbled over his leg and sent a strike at the back of her head. He wouldn't have hit her, even if she hadn't parried him, but she did. She turned in mid-stumble and struck his wrist with the side of her hand. She grinned at him and said, "Your hand would be numb from that, I just closed the chakra point in your wrist."

Naruto thought about that a moment, then let that hand fall limp, nodding his understanding. Luckily for him, it was his weaker left hand, not his dominant right hand. He grinned, thinking how he now had a weapon of sorts. The two jumped back apart, leaving about five feet between them. Naruto's left hand hung limp, which fooled everyone but Iruka into thinking Hinata had done something to him. Naruto chuckled, and Iruka grinned, knowing Hinata wasn't using her chakra in her strikes. Naruto decided it was time to play his trump card and end this.

Naruto started to circle Hinata, who turned so she was still facing him, still in her modified Gentle Fist stance. When Naruto's back was to the other students, he mouthed "I love you" and made a kissing motion at Hinata. Hinata blushed furiously and her guard dropped. Naruto rushed forward, got around behind her, placed his "limp" hand against the back of her knee and when she fell forward, he "hit" the back of her neck, and she fell to the ground. Naruto rolled her over and put a hand on each of her wrists, then grinned at her. "I win," he told her.

Hinata, blushing, said, "That wasn't fair, you cheated."

Naruto chuckled, got up, and held a hand out to her. Hinata took it, and he helped her to her feet. "Of course I cheated. That's the way of the ninja. And by the way, yes, I did mean what I said." Naruto left her with that and walked away, back to the back of the group. Hinata joined him a moment later and took his hand in hers, blushing. Naruto smiled at her and squeezed her hand encouragingly.

Iruka was somewhat surprised by that turn of events. Naruto had beaten Hinata at taijutsu? She was one of the best in the class in taijutsu, while Naruto was one of the worst. Then he remembered that blush on her face. He guessed (correctly) that her embarrassed state probably had something to do with Naruto's victory. He chuckled and called the next pair, Kiba and Shino, to spar.

Naruto led Hinata to a spot a short way from the rest of the class. He had stumbled onto this clearing some months before, when he was skipping class one day. Hinata looked around and saw that the clearing they were in had a small stream running by on one end, what looked like three trees that had been cut down (not training stumps, actual cut trees) in the middle arranged in a triangle, and a fire pit in one corner. Examining this, she figured someone had come here quite often. She looked at Naruto.

"This is where I come when I need to get away from everyone. Like on October 10, when everyone turns on me and trashes my apartment and tries to attack me, I come here and camp. That's why that's there," he said, pointing at the fire pit. "I'm not sure why, but I wanted you to know, if I ever vanish and no one can find me, this is where I'll be, so you can find me even if no one else can."

Hinata smiled, blushing at the idea of knowing where he was when no one else did. She came over and hugged Naruto. Naruto was surprised, but he smiled and hugged her back. Hinata's blush deepened when she felt Naruto's arms around her. The two just stood there for a while, basking in one another's presence and acceptance. After a while, Naruto looked at the girl in his arms. "Hinata, you really accept me, for me, don't you?"

Hinata looked up at him. "Of course I do, Naruto," Hinata said, blushing lightly. "I more than accept you," she added, blushing furiously.

Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean, Hinata?"

Hinata steeled herself. _"It's now or never, Hinata,"_ she thought to herself. "Naruto," she started, then faltered. Her voice didn't seem to want to cooperate. "I... I love you, Naruto," she confessed, her blush making her resemble nothing more than the setting sun.

Naruto gasped, then smiled. "I love you too, Hinata." Suddenly, the two found themselves wrapped tighter than ever in one another's arms, and both were happier than they'd ever been before.

After several minutes, the two pulled apart. Hinata, blushing like mad, and Naruto, smiling and blushing slightly himself, just stood there together, looking at one another. After a while, Naruto had a thought. "You know, Hinata, we've been on a date, and now we've said we love each other. So, does that mean we're a couple now?"

Of course, Naruto wouldn't know. Hinata realized after thinking a moment that Naruto had no experience with such things, beyond asking Sakura out every day or two. She smiled and giggled a little, blushing. "Yes, I guess it does, Naruto." She ran one hand down his arm until her hand rested in his. He smiled at her and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"We better get back," Naruto said, reluctantly. Hinata nodded. After a few moments to let that thought sink in, the two walked back to their classmates just as the final spar ended. They giggled as they watched Sasuke beat Sakura easily. Naruto smiled at Hinata, then had a thought. He worriedly asked, "Hinata, you're not upset that I beat you earlier are you?"

Hinata looked up in surprise, then remembered their spar. She smiled. "No, I'm not upset, Naruto. Unlike chicken-butt over there, you didn't really hit me. I think Sakura might really be hurt. I wasn't, you just pinned me. So don't worry about it," she told him, smiling.

Naruto couldn't help smiling back. "Thanks, Hinata," he said. "And your smile is still beautiful." Of course, Hinata blushed when he said that. He chuckled. "And I still love making you blush, it's so cute." Hinata blushed a little deeper, but she was smiling at her boyfriend. She gasped at that thought. "What is it, Hinata?"

"I just happened to think, if we're a couple, that means you're my boyfriend, and I'm your girlfriend," she said, her blush even darker now.

Naruto thought about it a moment, then nodded. "Hey, yeah, you're right. I've never had a girlfriend before," he said, smiling. Hinata smiled back; he was her first too, after all. "I'll do my best, Hinata."

She chuckled at his choice of words, and the lack of a promise attached to it. She understood his reasoning. "I'm sure you will, Naruto. I'm sure you will."

Two Days Later

Naruto chuckled as he entered the classroom. Today was the day of the exams. He had been very careful to make sure no one but Hinata and Shino saw him using his Shadow Clones, so he knew everyone thought he was going to fail the exam today. After all, he still had absolutely no skill at using normal clones, and he had been showing that lack of skill as often as he could lately. The exams started. Naruto sat back and watched as his classmates were called, one after another, to display their skills with the clone jutsu. When Hinata's name was called, he turned to her and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed. "For luck," he explained. She nodded, still blushing, and headed to the other room where Iruka and Mizuki were to take her exam.

Naruto waited his turn, watching as Sakura, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Shino, and Kiba were all called. He knew they would all pass. Eventually, it was just Naruto. He chuckled. He was always last. Came of having a family name late in the alphabet, he supposed. Eventually, Mizuki came into the room and called for Naruto to come with him. Naruto got up and followed him to the other room, a confident look on his face. As Naruto entered the room, he had a sudden feeling in the back of his mind that he should fail this by trying the normal clones. He didn't want to fail, but he remembered his trump card, the Shadow Clones, so he shrugged and thought _"Why not?"_ to himself.

Iruka and Mizuki were sitting in front of Naruto, behind a desk with a single headband left on it. Naruto made the sign for the clone jutsu and focused his chakra, trying his best to make clones. He almost chuckled at himself, thinking how easy it would be to blow both of them away with the Shadow Clones. Instead, he forced himself to make a normal, very pathetic, clone, the best he could ever do with the normal clones. Of course, Iruka told him he had failed.

He put up a show of being annoyed and frustrated and of being hopeful when Mizuki stood up for him, but really it was just a show. Iruka shot Mizuki down easily and the two were about to leave when Naruto spoke up. "Iruka-sensei, can I speak to you in private a moment?"

Iruka looked at his favorite student and nodded. "Sure, Naruto. I'll talk to you later, Mizuki," he said; Mizuki gave an odd grin and left. Once he was gone, Iruka smiled at Naruto. "Okay, Naruto, what's up?"

Naruto chuckled. "I'm not sure why I failed just now. Something told me to do this with just you and not Mizuki. I'm not sure why. But I'm going to pass the exam now," he said, giving Iruka a confident grin. Iruka sat down to see what Naruto was up to.

Naruto made a single hand-sign, a cross made with the first two fingers of each hand. He said, quietly, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" and suddenly the room had not one, not two, but ten clones in it. Naruto chuckled at Iruka's stunned face and told him, "Touch one."

Iruka looked confused, but reached out to put his hand through one. He found his hand stopping on it and looked at the original, stunned. "They're solid," he said. "Naruto, this is a Jounin level jutsu. How in the world do you know it?"

"That is an S-rank secret, Iruka-sensei, so sorry, but I can't tell you. Just know I learned it with permission," Naruto answered. Iruka nodded. He gestured for Naruto to take the last headband from the table, which Naruto did. Then Naruto told him, "I'm going to keep this a secret for now. Something tells me having people think I failed will come in handy somehow, so don't tell anyone just yet, okay?"

Iruka looked at his student, wondering what he was up to, then nodded. "Okay, Naruto, I won't tell anyone. I'll see you tomorrow. Meet in the classroom as usual to meet with your new sensei, all right?"

Naruto chuckled and nodded. "All right, Iruka-sensei, I'll see you then," he said, sliding his new headgear into his pocket and heading out the door. Naruto headed out to the front of the academy, a depressed look on his face. He went to the swing where he always sat when he felt really dejected. Hinata saw him coming out and had been about to hug him in celebration, when she saw his depressed face. Had he failed? No, it wasn't possible, now when he knew that Jounin-level version of the clone jutsu. Suddenly she saw him looking at her and she saw the spark of happiness in his eyes, even though his face didn't change from its depressed expression. She watched as he walked to the swing and sat down. She decided to wait and see what happened.

Naruto had been at the swing about ten minutes when he heard someone beside him speaking. "Iruka's tough, but he's not against you. He wants you to be strong, but that won't happen if he goes easy on you," Mizuki said.

Naruto acted like he was frustrated. "I just really thought I would pass this time. I trained so hard..."

Mizuki grinned, thinking, _"And now to set the hook."_ "Well, then I guess I have to tell you," he said. Naruto looked up at him. Mizuki told Naruto about the Scroll of Sealing that was in the Hokage's office and that if Naruto learned a jutsu from it, he could pass the exam.

Naruto looked up and saw the distortion in the air that told him Sarutobi was watching him. He'd seen it enough that he knew it when he saw it. He chuckled and turned to Mizuki. "Oh, you mean like this one?" he asked, forming his cross hand-sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said; suddenly about twenty clones surrounded Mizuki. Mizuki looked at Naruto, shocked. The boy hadn't even been able to make one clone before, how could he do this?

Mizuki had one last weapon up his sleeve. "Oh, I see how it is. You've fully become the Kyuubi now, have you? I see," he said. When Naruto looked confused, Mizuki said, "That's right, Naruto. The Nine-Tailed Fox that ravaged our village lives on in you! It was sealed in you, not killed! That's why everyone in the village hates you!"

Naruto looked shocked, then hurt, then just laughed. "Not everyone hates me, Mizuki. In fact, there's someone right over there," he pointed toward where Hinata was at this, "who loves me. So even if I have the Kyuubi in me, which I don't doubt, considering everything I've gone through my whole life, not everyone hates me. But you do, and that's enough reason for me to do this." Saying that, Naruto and all his clones rushed Mizuki and promptly beat him down, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Naruto chuckled, scratching his head. "I guess I got a little carried away," he said. Hinata ran over and hugged Naruto. Naruto smiled and hugged her back. "You heard all that, didn't you?"

Hinata nodded. "I don't care if you do have the fox in you, Naruto. You're still you, and I still love you," she said, hugging him tighter. Naruto sighed happily and held his girlfriend close. After making sure the ANBU had Mizuki in custody, Naruto and Hinata walked away together. The two ended up in the Hokage's office a few minutes later.

"Okay, old man, tell me, was what Mizuki said true? Do I have the Kyuubi in me?" Naruto asked, leaning over the Hokage's desk, an annoyed look on his face.

Sarutobi wasn't happy about this, but he nodded. "You do, Naruto. But you are not the fox. You're you, as Hinata said," he told the boy, chuckling as he remembered the conversation he had watched between the young couple. Hinata blushed as she realized she had been being watched. The Hokage smiled at both of them. "Naruto, Hinata, both of you realize this doesn't change anything. You are both ninja of this village, and knowing this secret doesn't change either of you. Also, Naruto, you may tell this secret to whom you choose, the law against telling it does not apply to you."

Naruto thought about that, then nodded, understanding why he had never known before. Hinata just held Naruto's hand to comfort him. Naruto smiled at his two precious people. "Thank you, both of you. Oh, by the way, old man, I won't be able to take the normal oath to become a Gennin you know. I can't say I'll always be faithful to the village, since the Hokage may one day become an evil man. I also can't say I'll never attack a person from this village, since someone may betray the village. So, what can I do?"

Sarutobi grinned at the boy, proud of him for realizing his bloodline would make things different. "All right, you two. I'm going to swear you both in as ninja here and now, all right?" The two preteens nodded. "Hinata, you can take the same oath as Naruto here. Raise your right hands." The kids did as he said. "Repeat after me."

This is the oath Naruto and Hinata took that day: "I hereby swear to be always faithful to the Will of Fire. I swear to always protect my precious people and defend them from any threat, be it from within or without the village. Moreover, I vow to always do what I believe is right, no matter the circumstances or consequences. I vow to always do everything in my power to see to it that Konoha stays on the path of right as well. This do I swear." (A/N: There's a reason I worded the vow like that.)

Naruto and Hinata left the Hokage's office as official ninja. They bowed to their Hokage and smiled as they left. Sarutobi smiled at them and went back to his paperwork once the two new ninja were gone. Naruto and Hinata, meanwhile, were walking hand-in-hand toward the Hyuga Estate. Upon arriving at its gate, Naruto hugged Hinata, whispered in her ear, "I love you" and parted from her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata," he said, grinning. She smiled back and headed into her home. Naruto smiled and went home himself. So it was that the two of them began their lives as ninja and as a couple. They both fell asleep that night with smiles on their faces and drifted into dreams of one another.


	4. Chapter 4

Honest Curse: Sean-Style  
>Chapter 4<p>

Upon awakening the next morning, Naruto looked around his room, half-expecting to find Hinata there with him. His dreams that night had been so vivid, so real, he would have sworn she was really there. His body was once again reacting to his dreams, which still baffled Naruto to no end, but he was starting to get used to it. He grasped for the details of his dream for a moment, then gave it up when the details evaded him. He had thought maybe he could figure out why his body was reacting like that, but no such luck. He got up and went to get his shower and prepare for the trip to the Academy, where he would get his team assignment today. He was grinning as he left his apartment, looking forward to officially being on a team with Hinata and Shino.

Upon arriving at the Academy, Naruto found his two teammates waiting for him. Hinata came to him and took his hand, blushing slightly. Shino just stood where he was; he nodded at Naruto, who returned the gesture. There was a certain respect among the three, and they trusted one another, that much was clear to even the most casual observer.

The three entered the classroom together. After they had sat down, Naruto decided this was a good time to cause a scene and get a little bit of revenge on Sasuke for making Sakura say no all those times. He walked over and leaned on the wall right where Sasuke was staring. Sasuke didn't react. The two had been there like that a few minutes when Sasuke's fan club poured into the room. Several of them started yelling for Sasuke to take them out, and Sasuke ignored them.

Naruto chuckled; this was perfect. "Sorry girls, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Good old Sasuke here is in love with me," he said, grinning.

Sasuke's annoyed stare turned into a glare, but he refused to say anything, hoping if he ignored the blond, he'd go away. Naruto just laughed as the girls all looked like he'd just told them their puppies had died.

Naruto moved over to Sasuke, deciding to take this another step. "Sorry, Sasuke, you're just not my type. Besides, I'm taken," he said, quieter than his previous comment, but still loud enough to be heard by Hinata on the far side of the room.

That did it. "I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Sasuke yelled, glaring at Naruto in rage. As he said this, Iruka walked into the classroom.

"I would hope you're not in love with Naruto, Sasuke. He's got Hinata, and I'm sorry, but I just don't think you could compete with that," Iruka said, grinning; he didn't know what was going on, but it was sure to be good. Sasuke just slumped down in his seat as the rest of the class burst out laughing. Iruka chuckled as Naruto returned to his spot between Hinata and Shino. "All right, everyone, settle down; I'm going to call out your team assignments."

Naruto smiled at Hinata. "At least we don't have to worry about who we're going to have on our team," he said. Hinata blushed and nodded. Shino nodded as well; it was nice, even for him, to not have to worry about who his teammates were.

"Team Seven," Iruka was saying. "Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team Eight, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka; your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi. And Team Ten will be Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi; your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." He smiled at his students. "I'm proud of all of you. Meet your sensei here in three hours. Until then you are dismissed."

Naruto and his team were the only ones who remained where they were. Everyone else was out eating or socializing, but their team just stayed and talked, enjoying one another in their own ways.

It was lucky for Naruto and Shino that Hinata had packed enough food for all of them; she simply said she wanted to, when Naruto asked about it. He shrugged and took that at face value; they were a couple now, after all, so why wouldn't she do things like that?

The three ate quietly, Naruto and Hinata enjoying their closeness to one another. Shino was pleased to be near his teammates as well, so he had no complaints either, even if he did feel a little like a third wheel. After about two hours, the rest of their class rejoined them.

Naruto got up when he saw Sasuke coming into the room. Right behind the Uchiha, naturally, was a rather large swarm of girls. Naruto put himself on the far side of the girls from Sasuke. What happened next must be explained from three different perspectives to fully understand it.

The girls behind Sasuke saw a struggling Naruto, seemingly trying to push Sasuke away from him, while Sasuke seemingly wouldn't let him get away. Naruto seemingly tried to take a step backward, when Sasuke put a leg behind Naruto's and the blond tripped. What happened next was completely shocking to the girls, especially Sakura and Ino. Sasuke and Naruto fell to the floor, Sasuke on top of Naruto, and, as they landed, Sasuke locked his lips onto Naruto's.

Sasuke, upon entering the room, was surprised when Naruto came up in front of him and put his hands on his shoulders, making it impossible for him to move. He tried to get back from Naruto but was surprised when he found he couldn't; Naruto's grip was just too strong. Naruto was acting like he was trying to push Sasuke back, but, in fact, he was holding him where he was. Sasuke tried to step toward Naruto, to push him off, but Naruto seemed to have anticipated this. He acted like he was stepping back, and in the process, made it look like Sasuke tripped him, when in fact, Naruto tripped Sasuke. Both fell to the ground, and Sasuke's head fell forward, making him end up kissing Naruto, much to his embarrassment.

Naruto, putting his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, had in fact trapped Sasuke where he was, loving this idea, even if he knew the experience itself would be less than pleasant. It would be worth it, he figured. Naruto acted like he was struggling, so the girls would think this was all Sasuke's idea. Naruto was actually grinning, thinking this would be one of his best pranks ever. He felt Sasuke shift, like he was going to move toward him, and used the opportunity perfectly; he made a show of stepping back, then tripped Sasuke. The two fell to the floor, and, much to Naruto's chagrin, Sasuke's lips fell straight onto his. Naruto made a huge show of struggling to get out from under Sasuke, who was too stunned to do anything for a few seconds.

Once the two boys had kissed, much to Sasuke's embarrassment and Naruto's chagrin, Naruto struggled hard to get out from under Sasuke, whose body seemed to have gone stiff. Naruto finally shoved him off, looked down at him, and yelled, "SASUKE, I TOLD YOU I'M TAKEN, DAMN IT!" then turned away to leave, wiping his mouth, which was only half acting.

As he was starting to walk away, Hinata came running over. Hinata knew Naruto had approached Sasuke, but she didn't know what Naruto was up to; she thought Sasuke had actually forced himself on Naruto just then, and, to say the very least, she was furious. She was NOT going to stand for this. "SASUKE!" she roared, charging him. Sasuke turned, hearing her voice and feeling a wave of killer intent from behind him.

"Hinata? I didn't..." he said, but he didn't get the chance to finish. Hinata was upon him, using her Gentle Fist to shut down the chakra points in his arms and legs, effectively paralyzing him.

As Sasuke fell to the ground, Hinata glared at him. "If you EVER try to come after MY Naruto again, Sasuke, I swear I will kill you. He's MINE!" she yelled at him. Even Sakura, who was considering coming to Sasuke's defense, thought better of it when she heard Hinata and saw the sheer rage in the shy girl's eyes. Hinata turned on her heels, satisfied that Sasuke wasn't moving, and walked back to Naruto.

Naruto, throughout this, was making quite a show of being disgusted and traumatized, while inside he was putting every ounce of his concentration into not laughing. This was perfect, even better than he'd expected. Hinata came back and sat by Naruto, putting an arm around his shoulders in an effort to comfort him. Naruto made a grand show of being shaken up, shivering and leaning against Hinata, who was more than happy to hold him close and rub his back.

While this was going on, Kurenai and Asuma came in together to get their respective teams. Kurenai, who knew Hinata and knew about her crush on Naruto (not such a crush now) and her Byakugan and the abilities that came with it, noticed how the shy girl was holding Naruto and how Sasuke seemed to be having trouble moving.

Kurenai had a feeling she'd regret it, but she just had to ask. "What in the world happened here?"

Hinata, the only girl not sobbing over Sasuke's apparent homosexuality, spoke up. "Sasuke forced himself onto Naruto, knocked him to the ground and kissed him," she said. Naruto shivered at the words, like he was traumatized; in truth, the shiver was a suppressed laugh.

Kurenai saw how all the girls (other than Hinata) looked sad, so she simply asked Naruto. "Is this true, Naruto?"

Naruto didn't trust himself to speak (fear he'd laugh) so he simply nodded. Kurenai saw this, then smiled; her smile was, for her, rather evil. She had just remembered that Sasuke was on her team. "All right. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba, come with me," she said, her red eyes glinting as she planned her revenge on the unfortunate Uchiha.

Asuma, who had been hanging back throughout this, finally spoke up. "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, you three come with me," he said. The two teams in question stood up and left with their respective sensei. Sasuke looked worried, Sakura and Ino were both still fighting tears, while Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji were still laughing at the whole thing.

Asuma and his team waited while Kurenai and hers left, then Asuma turned toward Shikamaru, knowing the young Nara's reputation of being a genius. "Okay, Shikamaru, what the hell really happened in there?" he asked, his eyes glinting; Asuma knew a prank when he saw one. It didn't hurt that they heard Naruto burst out laughing (Ino was the only one fooled, she thought her fellow blond was crying) as they were leaving.

Shikamaru made a gesture at Ino, then grinned at his sensei. "What do you mean, sensei? You heard what happened. Sasuke forced himself on Naruto," he said, winking to let Asuma know he'd explain later. (A/N: No, Shikamaru didn't know what was going on, he figured it out.)

Naruto, meanwhile, had finally lost his battle with his laughs. Hinata looked at him, extremely confused as to what in the world was so funny. "What's so funny, Naruto?" she asked, her eyes worried. She thought he'd totally snapped.

Shino, who had figured it out when Naruto cracked up, spoke, since Naruto couldn't. "Think about it, Hinata. The answer is right in front of you," he said, pushing his glasses up. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. Something was nagging at her, but she couldn't quite get it. She looked at Shino, begging him to explain it. "Naruto approached Sasuke, you saw this," he told her. She nodded. "He put his hands up before Sasuke did anything, you also saw this?" this time he was asking. She nodded again. "Then think, could Sasuke have forced himself on Naruto like that?" he asked her, trying to lead her in the right direction.

It finally dawned on Hinata what Shino meant. "You mean...?" she said. Shino nodded. She turned to Naruto. "So, all that time, you were in control, you forced him to do all that?" she asked her boyfriend.

Naruto, still laughing so hard he couldn't talk, nodded. Hinata thought about the event from this new perspective, then she realized why Naruto was laughing so hard, and she herself began giggling. Soon enough, she was laughing as hard as Naruto was. Shino was the only one who didn't laugh with them.

It was about ten minutes before Naruto and Hinata calmed down enough that they could talk. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was going to do that, Hinata," Naruto said. "It just came to me on the spur of the moment."

Hinata giggled. "It's okay, Naruto," she answered. "I wouldn't have acted like I did if I had known anyway."

Meanwhile, Asuma and his team had finished their introductions. Asuma dismissed them, locking his eyes with Shikamaru to let him know to stay. Only Ino left, as it turned out. "Okay, Shikamaru," Choji spoke up. "What the hell happened back there?"

Shikamaru grinned. "It was a prank, as I'm sure Asuma-sensei has surmised," he said. Asuma nodded. "I figured it out when Naruto put his hands up on Sasuke's shoulders, THEN started acting like he was struggling. Everything that happened was by Naruto's design. Quite frankly, the only thing I can't quite figure is WHY he did all that."

Choji thought about what his best friend was saying. "Well, Naruto doesn't exactly like Sasuke," he said. "Maybe he was just trying to embarrass him?"

Shikamaru thought about that. "It's possible, I suppose, but, think about it, Choji. When have you ever seen Naruto do a prank with only one purpose?"

Choji thought about that. "Well...never, really," he said back.

"Exactly," Shikamaru said. "And usually, his pranks ended up helping someone somehow, be it giving a Jonin extra training or giving one of us a chance to slack off, namely me." He fell silent a moment, then continued. "I just don't see what his purpose was with this one."

Choji thought about this one a moment. Then he remembered. Some time back, probably about a year previously, he had told Naruto he had a crush on Ino. He blushed. He had the answer. "Um, Shikamaru?" he said softly. Shikamaru looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow at him when he noticed his blush. "I think I know why Naruto did that," he said.

Shikamaru was surprised. Had Choji actually outsmarted him? Well, if so, then he'd just have to figure out what Choji knew that he didn't know himself. "Oh? And why do you think Naruto did it, Choji?" he answered, his mind racing to try to get it before Choji said it.

"You know about my crush on Ino, Shikamaru," he answered, blushing deeper. Shikamaru nodded, still not seeing the relevance. "Well, I told Naruto about that about a year ago. I think he was trying to get Ino to stop being so obsessed with Sasuke so I'd have a chance," he said, his blush reaching Hinata levels.

Shikamaru grinned. Good old Naruto. That's just the kind of thing he'd do. "Yeah, Choji, you're probably right. That's just the kind of thing he'd pull, isn't it?" he said, smiling. "Well, better not waste his effort, huh?"

Choji grinned, his blush receding. Shikamaru was right, after all. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Shikamaru," he said. That said, the three remaining members of Team Ten separated and went to their respective homes.

Meanwhile, Team Seven was STILL waiting for their sensei to show up. Naruto, having gotten impatient about ten minutes before, had set up a rather elaborate prank. When the door opened, an eraser would fall just inches in front of Kakashi's face. This would hit a small ball Naruto had found in the room. This would roll across the floor, touching a very precariously balanced book, which would fall onto a see-saw like thing set up with a crème pie on the other side. If his plan worked right, this pie would fly across the room and hit Kakashi-sensei in the face. In truth, the pie (the only thing Naruto hadn't been able to find in the room) was a transformed Naruto clone.

Since both Hinata and Shino were aware of this prank, they both were anxious to see if their sensei would fall for it. Shino figured it was logical that a high-level ninja would dodge the pie easily, but Hinata, knowing Naruto's success rate with pranks, especially those aimed at Jounin, fully expected this one to succeed as well.

Shino commented, "Naruto, this is a Jounin. A simple prank like this will never work on him."

Naruto grinned. "Care to make a bet on that?" he asked.

Shino thought about it. He assumed he'd win, regardless, but he was curious what Naruto had in mind. "What kind of bet, Naruto?"

Naruto pondered for a moment. "Okay, if it works, you'll help me prank the whole village. If it fails, I'll come out with you on our first day off, and spend the whole day helping you collect bugs," Naruto said.

Shino, knowing how much Naruto despised his little friends, knew just how much of a sacrifice that was for his blond teammate. He chuckled, thinking he had this one in the bag. "All right, Naruto, you're on." The two shook hands. "And maybe you'll learn a thing or two while we're out collecting," he added, a slight smile on his face.

Naruto grinned, sure this would work. "I doubt that, but maybe you'll learn a thing or two while we're making our prank," he answered. Shino smiled; he found he actually liked his blond teammate. He was a bit goofy, yes, but he made things fun. "Oh, one condition. You can't warn him or interfere in any way," Naruto said. Shino nodded; he hadn't intended to do that anyway.

As they were finishing this, the door opened. Kakashi poked his head in just in time to see an eraser fall just past his nose. He looked over at Naruto, knowing this had to be his doing. "Um, Naruto, you missed," he said, confused. He'd never known Naruto to miss like that before; all his pranks were right on the mark.

Naruto grinned. "Not yet I didn't," he said.

"Huh?" Kakashi answered intelligently. He heard something across the room and turned toward it, just in time to see a crème pie hit him straight in the face. He turned to glare at Naruto, who snapped a picture. Then Naruto dispelled the clone, which meant Kakashi's face was clean, as if he'd never been hit. Kakashi growled. "I hate you sometimes, Naruto." Kakashi had been the victim of Naruto's pranks before.

Naruto just grinned at Shino. "I win," he said. Shino nodded, shocked that had worked.

"All right, you clowns," Kakashi said. "Meet me on the roof." That said, the silver-haired man disappeared.

The three teammates walked up to the roof. Kakashi was leaning on the railing at the edge of the roof. The three walked over to a set of steps in front of him and sat down. Shino sat beside Naruto, which left Hinata no immediate room, so she sat on Naruto's lap, surprising everyone. Naruto didn't mind; he put his arms around her from behind, effectively trapping her there.

Kakashi chuckled at their antics, then said to the team, "Let's introduce ourselves. I know we had a mission together already, but let's get to know one another some now."

Naruto chuckled. "What's there to say? We all know one another pretty well," he said, grinning at their sensei.

"You may know one another," Kakashi said. "But I don't know you, and you don't know me."

"Don't I?" Naruto asked back, raising one eyebrow at the silver-haired man.

"You think you know me?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep," Naruto answered.

Kakashi decided to have some fun with this clown, and get him back for the pie thing. "Prove it," he said, eye-smiling at the team.

"All right," Naruto said. "Your name is Kakashi Hatake. You like your smut books. You hate being alone and people who abandon their friends. Your dreams are to make your sensei proud and to meet the author of those books."

Kakashi was stunned. Everything Naruto said was true. "All right, Naruto, what about your teammates?" he asked, trying to cover his shock.

Naruto gestured at the brown-haired boy beside him first. "This is Shino Aburame. He likes his insects and his family. He dislikes people who think with emotion rather than logic, as well as anything that can hurt his insects. His hobby is collecting and studying different kinds of insects. He dreams of fighting strong opponents to prove himself."

Kakashi turned to Shino, who spoke softly. "His words are an accurate description of me," Shino said.

Naruto grinned, knowing he was catching Kakashi off-guard with this. He squeezed Hinata a little. "This is Hinata Hyuga. She likes me, obviously, and cinnamon rolls. She dislikes shellfish and those who judge people without knowing them. Her hobby is pressing flowers. She dreams to fight both her cousin Neji and her father," he said. Then he whispered in her ear, "And to marry me."

She blushed deeply, then nodded. "He's right," she said for Kakashi's benefit. Now Kakashi was flat-out dumbfounded. How in the hell did Naruto know not only his, but his teammates' likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams? It just made no damn sense. Yet it had happened.

Naruto chuckled. "I should tell you guys mine, too, I guess. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, as I'm sure you know. I like my friends and Hinata, and ramen, of course. I dislike being patient. My hobbies are trying new kinds of ramen, and training. My dream is to be the greatest Hokage Konohagakure has ever seen," he said to his team. He then whispered to Hinata, "And to help you make your dreams come true."

Hinata blushed furiously, of course, at that. Kakashi smiled at his team, still curious how Naruto knew all this, but he decided to leave it alone for now. He dismissed the team, telling them to meet the next morning at eight on the training ground, but got another surprise when only Shino left. He looked at the two remaining.

"What's up, you two?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh, nothing," Naruto answered, grinning. "We're just waiting for you to leave."

Kakashi gave them a look, wondering what that meant, then shrugged it off. "All right, well, keep it clean you two," he said, teasing them. Naruto glared at him, while Hinata blushed. Kakashi, still grinning behind his mask, left the two alone.

Naruto turned Hinata around on his lap so she was facing him. He smiled at her.

"N-Naruto," Hinata started. He smiled encouragingly. "How did you know all that stuff about me and Shino?" she asked.

Naruto chuckled. "It was pretty easy actually. I just watched you. I've seen how you are with your family a couple times, and I've seen Shino collecting bugs, so I knew that. I saw you watching me, and plus we're together now, so I knew that. Some of it I kind of guessed at, but yeah, the rest I know just from observing you guys. And I've been observing Kakashi-sensei for years now, he was one of the ANBU who used to watch over me when I was a kid."

Hinata was surprised with that last part. ANBU had watched over Naruto as a kid? Why? "Why would the ANBU watch over you as a kid?" she asked, curious.

"I...I don't know," Naruto said, having never thought about that before.

Hinata shrugged it off and wrapped her arms around Naruto. As she cuddled close to him, he got a shock; his body was reacting to her proximity the same way it reacted to those weird dreams he kept having of her. Hinata noticed; she also knew what it meant, which made her blush.

"Naruto?" she said, smiling up at him. He looked down at her, his face confused. "You're reacting to me, aren't you?"

Naruto looked at her, even more confused. "Yeah, I am, Hinata, but I don't know why. I don't even know what this reaction means," he said, blushing a little.

Now, this totally shocked Hinata. She knew exactly what his reaction meant: he wanted her. He didn't know? The girls in the Academy had all been taught certain aspects of seduction, of course, and this reaction was one part of it. She knew the boys were taught certain things along the same lines from things Neji had said, along with some of the boys in their class. How did Naruto not know what it meant?

"Naruto, I know they teach the boys about that in the Academy, how do you not know what it means?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged, then remembered something. "I do remember one day when one of the instructors took each of the guys to a separate room and kept them for about ten minutes. When it was my turn, the teacher just gave me a harsh look and said something about me not needing to be told anything. I don't know what he meant," he said, giving Hinata a look of confusion. "But, Hinata, what does it mean? This reaction, I mean."

Hinata blushed, not sure how to tell him what it meant. "Naruto, you should probably ask someone you trust about that, maybe Iruka-sensei or the Hokage," she said, blushing deeper.

Naruto realized she wasn't sure how to explain it to him, so he nodded. "All right. I'll ask Iruka-sensei tomorrow," he said, smiling at her.

Hinata sighed, glad he had accepted that. She looked at Naruto smiling at her, then did something neither of them had expected her to do. She leaned up and kissed Naruto.

Naruto, while he was surprised by her action, wasn't about to let it go to waste. He kissed her back, both of them luxuriating in their first kiss. The two put their arms around one another and kissed again, deeper, longer, loving how close they felt to one another. After a while, the two separated; Naruto released Hinata, who stood up. Naruto rose and took her hand in his, smiling at her. She blushed, but smiled back, intertwining her fingers with his. The two then left the Academy together; Naruto walked Hinata home, then went home himself.

Upon arriving home, Hinata went straight to her room and fell into bed. She intended to rest a moment, but instead she fell asleep; she slept the whole night through. For once, she didn't dream.

Naruto arrived home, still smiling as he thought of Hinata. He ate dinner, showered, and went to bed; he fell asleep into dreams of Hinata yet again. This time, his dreams were of their future as a couple, and as teammates.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey people! *ducks under a rooten fruit* I know I'm the person you hate right now, and I can respect and understand why. Well, if you want hear the reason why I haven't updated as of late, then PM me. I don't feel like typing all my misfortunes onto the internet for all the world to see. Anyway, here is the next chapter!  
>So, read, love, review, and repeat. We all know the prodecure.<strong>

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><p><strong>I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO NARUTO. ALL ITEMS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, SUCH AS KISHIMOTO-TEME-SAN.<strong>

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><p>Honest Curse: SeanStyle<br>Chapter 5

Naruto groaned as his alarm clock began blaring. He glared at; its numbers showed him it was 5:00 in the morning. He groaned again and reluctantly crawled from his bed. Getting his shower and eating breakfast, all he could think about was his talk with Iruka-sensei. He found himself moving slower than normal; he was dreading this talk for some reason. By the time Naruto left his apartment, it was 5:45. He moved through the silent village more slowly than he usually did, so by the time he actually got to the Academy, it was a few minutes after six. Realizing how much time, he had wasted, Naruto scoffed at himself and made his way to the door of his old classroom.

Naruto knocked on the door, simultaneously hoping he'd get an answer and afraid he would. "Come in," said a voice form the other side of the door. Naruto immediately recognized it as Iruka-sensei. Groaning to himself, Naruto opened the door.

"Hey Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. Iruka Umino, the scarred Chunin instructor Naruto had come to view as a father figure of sorts, looked up and grinned at his favorite blond student.

"Oh, hey Naruto, what's up?" he said. Naruto sat down, then stood up, sat down in a different spot, got back up, paced, and then sat down on a corner of Iruka's desk. Iruka watched all of this, a confused look on his face. "Naruto?" he asked with a bit of worry.

Naruto took a deep breath and sat down. "Iruka-sensei, I have a question to ask you…it's really personal…" he trailed off, his eyes full of worry and embarrassment; As well as a blush to rival a mild-Hinata blush.

In Iruka's head however they were a few alarms going off. _"He couldn't, it's just impossible he was supposed to have this in his fourth year of the Academy."_ He dismissed those thought as just that, an impossibility. He put a smile on to replace the look of shock and mild fear that was well hidden, but just in case. "Of course Naruto. You can talk to me about anything. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Really," Naruto asked, not entirely sure, looking as timid as everyone lavender eyed princess.

The scarred Journeyman Shinobi simply nodded with an assuring smile. "It's okay Naruto."

Naruto visibly relaxed, shoulders sagged a bit, and breathe of relief. "Well, I keep having these dreams…" he trailed off.

"What are these dreams about Naruto?" he asked in a stern, but concerned tone. _"If the nightmares came back, I'll take him to Inoichi. If he finds a genjutsu anywhere, I'll kill the man who did it myself," _Iruka thought menacingly.

"Well, it's about me and Hinata…" Naruto began.

"_Oh no…" _Iruka thought.

"We were doing things…"

"_It cannot be…"_

"But we were both…"

"_No…!"_

"…naked." Naruto finished. With that Iruka promptly did the manly, heroic thing to do: he fainted, badly. Naruto promptly did the sensible thing and panicked. He ran in circles for three minutes before he got an idea.

"GRANNY TSUNADE!" he yelled as a battle cry, as he hopped rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage Tower. He burst in though the doors and ran inside, along with the Shadow Clones carrying the poor Chunin Instructor. He ran up the stairs, the clones barely keeping up with his pace and nearly dropping Iruka. He burst into the Hokage's office and started talking at a pace that the Raikage would be jealous of.

"GrannyTsunadehelpIruka-senseifaintedPleaseGrannyhelp."

The yell of "NARUTO!" from both the Sannin and the Hokage were what snapped him out of it. Both Tsunade and Hiruzen looked ticked off and behind them were several clan heads and others that he did not know. He immediately recognized the stern face of Hiashi Hyuga and the worried Inoichi Yamanaka. He also recognized the shocked face of Akiri Haruno, Head of the Cornucopia Merchant's Guild. She had the bubblegum hair and emerald eyes of her daughter. She was skinny and barely any fat on her body except for the bare minimum. There were also the old farts Homura and Koharu that called themselves the Hokage's Advisors. There was also a man with tanned skin, many scars and his entire left arm was bandaged and in a sling. He decided to speak first.

"What is the Demon…" he was cut off by a glare and potent killing intent that made a civilian faint. "The Uzumaki here for?" he said with hatred and disgust as if his name left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Danzo, do not patronize Naruto or I'll send you to Ibiki AND Anko and tell them to have fun," the old Hokage said without even looking at the old war hawk. Everyone in the room visibly paled except for Tsunade (who was smirking), Hiashi who kept his stern face but had an invisible hint of fear in his eyes, the Third Fire Shadow himself, Koharu, Homura, and the man who received the threat. He simply grunted in response to signal he'll back off.

"_Sooner or later, I'll have the fox as my greatest tool. Just a matter of time,"_ thought the war hawk, mentally not giving an inch to the Hokage.

"Naruto tell me what happened to Iruka," said the Hokage with a look of conviction, but a grandfatherly tone.

"Well I was telling him about these dreams I was having," Naurto said. All the men in the room visibly paled at the statement, even Danzo. All the women just had a confused look.

"What were these dreams about, Naruto?" the old man said with a shaken voice.

"Well they were of me and my girlfriend, and we were doing things…" he didn't even have a chance to finish as all the men in the room fainted, except for Danzo and Hiruzen, both of whom were struggling to maintain consciousness. The women, on the other hand were confused, and some were three were looking angry, Akiri Haruno, Tsunade, and Tsume Inuzuka.

"_I don't care personally care for the brat, but demon or not, he should at least have The Talk,"_ thought the Guild Leader.

"_The pup should get the education he needs, what have those idiots at the Academy done?"_ thought the feral woman.

"_The kid is going to get Sexual Education whether he likes it or not. He's my godson for God's sake!"_ thought the Slug Sannin. As an after thought she added, _"And he's NOT going to get it from his godfather."_

As she thought that all those still conscious heard a sneeze from outside the window. They turned and saw a man with spiky, long white hair. He was wearing a chain mail shirt under a green shirt beneath a long red vest. He had a large scroll attached to the vest and wore a strange looking forehead protector. It was a bit lumpy, appeared to have no cloth under it, and had the kanji for "Oil" in black on it. It also had two little horns that were barely visible. He had two red lines under his eyes similar to the Inuzukas but was smaller, and closer to his eyes.

"So Jiraiya, you finally decide to grace us with your presence," said Tsunade with contempt and a glare. "How long were you going to be?"

The man now identified as Jiraiya just grinned. "So Tsunade, you finally want to confess your love for the Gallant Toad Sage, the mighty Jiraiya?" he said as he stepped into the office through the window.

Naruto's first impression of this guy: _"He's weird,"_ with a sweat drop as he put Iruka on the couch in the office, the poor man still unconscious.

"So how are you Tsunade?" he asked with a cheeky grin. Tsunade just did a combo of a glare and deadpan look.

"We were just discussing politics as you see," waving around the room. The Toad Sage looked around and dropped his mask and donned his serious face.

"_Something is not right here," _he thought._ "All of the clan heads, civilians, and council members have all fainted, except the females,"_ looking at Akiri, Tsunade, and Tsume, _"Sensei and Danzo are barely gripping on consciousness. Then there's this kid that kinda looks like…"_ his eyes visibly widened. The boy had spiky blonde hair, and deep sapphire eyes. He looked deeper in his eyes and saw a fire that only burned with the kind of intensity that only one person he knew could even muster. _"…Minato and Kushina."_

Naruto on the other hand was looking directly in the eyes of the tall man before him. They looked with the analytical intensity that only four people he knew or saw and they were all in this room! Those were the Old Man, Granny Tsunade, Danzo, and the man that looked like Shikamaru. He picked him up and slammed him against the wall next to the pictures of the previous Hokages.

Jiraiya had to be sure he looked from him to the last picture on the wall, the Fourth Hokage, back to the boy. He dropped the boy abruptly and went to round on the aged Hokage.

Naruto was dropped down and glared at the Sage. He looked at the picture he thought he was being compared to. It was the Fourth Hokage, under it was a plaque. It said:

**The Fourth Hokage  
><strong>**Minato Namikaze  
><strong>**The Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf Village**

He looked on to the Old Man and Jiraiya.

"Is he the one?" Jiraiya asked his sensei. Both Tsunade and Hiruzen nodded. "The Orange that was mixed from the Red and Yellow?" he asked in code. His sensei looked him straight in the eyes. He nodded.

Orange? Red? Yellow? Were they talking about his clothes? Naruto was simply lost and irritated. _"I try to talk with Iruka-sensei and I get into this kind of mess again; why do these things happen to me?"_ he asked the heavens.

"ANBU! Escort Danzo out of here! Along with the rest of the council members!" yelled the Sarutobi. Three ANBU Black Ops shinobi appeared and aided Danzo to his feet and lead the pale man outside the office; four more appeared to wake up the rest of the council and lead them out. One of them pointed to Iruka on the couch and the Hokage nodded. The ANBU carried Iruka away still passed out. All that was left in the room was Akiri, Tsume, Tsunade, Jiraiya, the Hokage, and Naruto.

"I thought I said all council members," said the Professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was glaring at the pinkette and the brunette.

Akiri and Tsume stood their ground. In response, the Hokage released a bit of Killing Intent. Akiri shivered under it but held her ground, eyes locked with the Hokage.

"I'm making sure the brat gets his education. He never bothered me so I'm returning the favor," Akiri said. It was true that she never did anything to harm Naruto, but she never helped him either.

"I just want to make sure the pup doesn't do anything stupid when he's older," Tsume shrugged. She would say different, but Akiri would probably blab with the civilian half of the council and cause a big mess for the Inuzuka Clan.

"I assure you that everything will be fine. We have the best Medical Shinobi in the known world here with us," said Jiraiya gesturing to Tsunade.

Tsume nodded and started to walk out, but when Akiri was still she pulled on her hair.

"OW! THAT HURTS! LEMME GO! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET MY HAIR DONE LIKE THIS! OW!" yelled Akiri as Tsume pulled her pink locks. Meanwhile, Tsume was in tears and walking away.

"_Just like her daughter,"_ thought the feral Clan Head. Enhanced hearing will make loud noises hurt, especially when on par with a dog. As soon as she left, the Hokage flashed through hand seals like a blur and finally stopped on the Ram sign. Red seals flashed around the room, went over through the windows and walls, all with the kanji for "Silence", "Security", or "Blindness."

"Sometimes I wonder if the Harunos have a kenkei genkai for using sound waves," if the Hokage was joking, no one could tell. "Now on to more important matters. "Yes, Jiraiya he is their son."

Naruto's eyes widened at that and he felt his eyes brim with tears. He lunged at his grandfather figure only to be blocked by the Slug Sannin.

"You said you never knew my parents! Why did you lie to me Old Man! WHY?" Naruto was shaking with uncontrolled rage and hurt that Tsunade was having trouble holding him.

The God of Shinobi had the decency to look down in shame. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I did it for your own protection. If anyone knew whose son you are many people would come after you, attempting to kill you for revenge. The entire Village Hidden among the Stones has a grudge against your father!" he said with tears in his eyes.

Naruto looked straight in to the Hokage's eyes. He could tell that he was truly sorry for what he did. But he always had doubts about everyone. "If you're truly sorry, at least tell me who my parents are," he stated with conviction.

The Hokage nodded and pulled out two files. "Their names were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. The Yellow Flash and the Red-Hot Habanero of the Leaf. He looked and saw a woman with crimson hair that was waist length. Intelligent and loving gray eyes that were sharper than any blade. The man of the left was…

"THE FOURTH HOKAGE?" Naruto shouted in shock. "He reached across the desk and pulled the Third Hokage toward him by his robe and looked him straight in the eye. "Old Man, I'm warning you right now. If this is some kind of a joke that you and the two geezers behind me have all set up; **no one** would be able to find a trace of you or them with the best tracking jutsu in the world for centuries."

The Hokage actually widened his eyes in shock, as did the Sannin behind him. He started to sweat a little.

"_Naruto's not joking. He'd really do that. I wouldn't even be able to fight him when he's determined like this, _"I thought the aged Hokage.

"_Just like his mother,"_ thought Tsunade.

"_The kid wouldn't do it would he?"_ were Jiraiya's thoughts.

"They are your parents, kid. I was Minato's sensei," spoke up Jiraiya. "In fact, I'm your godfather."

Naruto looked at Tsunade and his grandfather figure. "And you knew?" Naruto asked, shell shocked.

Naruto looked again at the pictures, he looked deep at them. He started to see the similarities. Lord Fourth's hair and eye color, Kushina's face and eyes.

"I believe you," Naruto finally stated after moments of silence. Lord Third smiled, only to get punched in the face. Giving him a black eye and knocked out of his chair. "That's for lying to me," he said looking down at the Old Man. Jiraiya were visibly shocked. Too focused on what happened to their former sensei that they didn't notice the Shadow Clones behind them. One kicked Jiraiya in between the legs and two others went behind Tsunade: one leg swept and the other punched her, breaking her nose. "And that's for not being here for me." He said to his godparents. He helped them up with the help of his clones with a smile that could melt hearts. They got up and were helped to the couches and chairs.

"I guess we deserve that," said the Hokage. Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya just groaned.

"Kid, remind me not to lie to you," said the Toad Sage. "Tsunade, please," he asked, holding his kicked manhood.

Tsunade simply nodded and said, "Alright, but your last." Her hands started to glow green and put them up to her nose to repair it. After two minutes her nose was good as new. She walked over to Hiruzen and started to heal his eye.

Naruto decided to break the silence. "So, why did you guys not be here for me," he asked sincerely.

"I run the spy network for the Village, which means I have to travel a lot. I just wouldn't be able to take care of you," Jiraiya said with a slightly pained look. Naruto nodded in understanding.

"What your excuse, Granny?" Our favorite blond asked Tsunade.

Tsunade stiffened. She really thought she wouldn't have to say, it but everyone has to come out of the closet eventually. "I was so grief stricken by Minato's and Kushina deaths that I ran out of the village," she said pained. Naruto stood there with his head bowed so that they couldn't see his eyes. "Naruto?" she asked. He looked and instantly she regretted asking. His eyes were filled with tears unshed. Those deep, once bright eyes were now dark and filled with a cold fusion of rage, hurt, and loneliness. The temperature dropped instantly to the point where Hiruzen and Jiraiya could see their breath. The cold had leaked out of the office and into the rest of the tower and the immediate area around it. The shinobi just shrugged and thought it was more politics and went about their business. The ANBU that were stationed in the tower and to guard their Hokage were on the ready.

"Naruto…" she said with worry filled in her amber eyes. Their eyes locked and Tsunade nearly shivered under the intensity of his gaze. They kept them locked in a silent staring contest. After a few seconds Naruto broke down and started crying, immediately Tsunade wrapped her arms around him and started rocking him,

"_If he wasn't crying, I'd be jealous of the kid right about now,"_ he thought a bit perversely at looking Naruto crying into Tsunade's chest and shoulders.

"_Oh, Naruto…" _thought the old Hokage looking at his surrogate grandson.

When Naruto stopped crying he look into the face of the woman whom he was crying on. Her honey colored eyes were filled with unshed tears. "I promise, Naruto, I'll always be here for you for now on," she said with love. She then felt a pulse of chakra flow through her. She felt it was from Naruto. "Uh, Naruto?"

He looked up and asked innocently, "What is it Granny Tsunade?"

Jiraiya snickered at "Granny Tsunade."

A ticked-off mark appeared over Tsunade's head. _"Naruto first, castrating Jiraiya later," _she thought. "Did you feel a pulse of chakra just now?"

Naruto thought about it a moment. "Yea, I did. It happened when you made that…" his eyes went wide, "promise."

"It would appear that your Bloodline has a weapon use to it. Any promise that is made to you probably can't be broken either," said the Hokage, then added, "That would explain why I had to buy you so much ramen on your birthdays." Naruto just gave a foxy and cheeky grin.

"Wait he has a kenkei genkai? The only Bloodline his parents had were the Uzumaki Regeneration," said Jiraiya.

"Minato's and Kushina's DNA mixed in this way. Yamonoko is the name of his Bloodline. It seems to revolve around promises. I would test it, but I wouldn't want the Council to get wind of this and try to make Naruto have a harem," Hiruzen said.

"Why would the kid NOT want a harem?" the Toad Sage asked with appall and shock clearly evident in his voice.

"Because he isn't a pervert like you Jiraiya!" Tsunade said, holding Naruto close to her and as far from Jiraiya as possible.

"I'm not pervert," he said then he put on a face that look like he was either really happy with something, or going to rape someone. "I'm a big one," wiggling his fingers.

Tsunade was about to attack with a chakra-enhanced, no bars hold monster punch. But Hiruzen stuck his arm to defend the Super Pervert. "As much as I think he deserves it," Tsunade just grinned like the cat-that-ate-the-canary and Jiraiya's jaw hit the floor so hard that it nearly broke one of the security seals on the floor. "If he's hurt he cannot train Naruto and make up for all thirteen years he was gone," Sarutobi said with a grin and evil look in his eye. Tsunade and Jiraiya swapped faces for a moment then went to an identical grin for Tsunade, and a fond smile for Jiraiya. "And your helping him Tsunade," the old monkey summoner finished.

"So, I get training from the best ninja in the Leaf?" asked the young blonde. The boy's grandfather figure simply nodded. He shot his fist in the air, "Hell yeah! With this I'll definitely become Hokage! Believe it!" he yelled.

The Sannin and Kage watched this with a fond smile, _"He's definitely Kushina's kid."_

"Even they are a perv and a drunk," he said. The Sannin just twitched at this and had a flash of an evil grin when they looked at one another, only noticed by the aged man in the room older than them. _"Just wait for your training kid."_

"Don't you have to meet your team, Naruto?" said Hiruzen. Naruto looked shocked and forgot about his team meeting. "Oh, I gotta go. See ya later Old. Man Bye, Granny! Later, Pervy Sage!" he called as he was running out the room as fast as his stubby little legs can carry him.

"Pervy Sage?" Jiraiya whimpered with anime tears. _"If the kid says that while I'm researching, I'll be found out!"_

"This training will be more fun than I thought," said Tsunade watching her godson leave.

"Tsunade, you forgot to heal me," Jiraiya groaned, finally remember he got an uber kick to the testicles.

"I know," said the blonde with an evil grin that Jiraiya couldn't see.

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><p><strong>Oh, poor Jiraiya. Will he ever learn? Break your promises, and they'll bite (or should I say kick) you twice as hard as when you broke them. And will Naruto ever get paradoxical, blessing and curse known as The Talk? And what of the prank? Who will he prank? What will he do?<strong>

**Seriously, though. If any of you have any ideas for the prank. PM me, not a review. That would kinda spoil it for the future readers. Anyway, this has been Spyrofan777, Sean, with your Fanfiction entertainment!**

**REVIEW! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, people! Here's the latest chapter. Sorry for the shortness, but I am tired and it is one in the morning. This is a Sasuke centric chapter. But it is kinda essential. Enjoy!**

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><p>Honest Curse: Sean-Style<br>Chapter 6

Sasuke Uchiha was a prodigy for his age.  
>He knew, his Academy teachers said so, even Kurenai-sensei said so. Was that why she gave him extra training? To get him stronger to face Itachi? If so, then why did she always have that evil glint in her jewel-like eyes? Her face was emotionless, she posture relaxed as far as he could tell, but something was off in this training when Sasuke was told to stay when Kiba went home and Sakura was sent home.<p>

As he was doing his extra push-ups he had this train of thought and decided to ask the genjutsu mistress why he had this extra training. _"Only 50 more to go..." _the obsidian-eyed boy thought to himself as he pushed his tired arms to loft his strained and bruised body."  
>Kurenai watched her student ponder during his "training." She was curious as to what. She thought it would be some way to steal Naruto away from Hinata. She would be damned to the bowels of hell before she let that happen. Or worse yet, hang out with Anko for a month.<br>While she didn't mind Sasuke's sexual orientation, she was furious with him trying to steal someone from who they loved. She was had to deal with that enough from a stalker or two who would not take no for an answer. Since they were civilian, she could not harm them without justifiable cause and be sent to T&I for questioning as to why. It would most likely Anko who do it, and Anko being the eccentric sadist that she is, as well as her best friend, she would spill the beans about Asuma.  
>She and Asuma had been dating for a couple of months and have kept it a secret due to Anko castrating the guy who dumped her when she wouldn't sleep with him on the second date. She didn't want Anko or Asuma to get hurt (they already do that to themselves with Anko's sweet binges and Asuma's smoking habits). Also she just didn't want to deal with the headache from the two of the together. Active, bouncy, and sadistic just didn't mixed well with lazy, laid-back, and cheery.<br>Back to the matter at hand, she refused to give ammunition for Sasuke to steal Hinata's favorite blond away from the shy heiress. _"If he's able to think while he's training, then I'm not being hard enough."_

"Kurenai-sensei?" Sasuke asked respectfully, snapping her out of her thought process.

She blinked and looked at her onyx eyed student. "Yes, Sasuke?"  
>"I was wondering why you've been giving me extra training, not that I don't appreciate it. I just want to know why," he asked courteously to the jounin.<p>

That made Kurenai blink. That was the last question that Sasuke Uchiha thought would ask her at this time. She had always consider honesty to be the best policy, so she told him the truth; even if it was a bit brutal. "You're receiving it as a punishment for forcing yourself on Naruto, Sasuke. If there is one thing I hate in this world, its people like you who force themselves on people," she said. "I guess since you see this training as a reward instead of a punishment, I'll have to find something else to do with you."  
>"That is the thing though Kurenai-sensei: I did not force myself on to Naruto. He came to me first, put his hands on my shoulders. It would be more like <strong>he<strong> was forcing **himself** on **me**, Kurenai-sensei. You can ask Shino or Shikamaru, those two are so observant, they'll tell you the same thing," Sasuke said with resolve.  
>Kurenai thought about this, she actually hadn't seen him force himself on to Naruto, only the aftermath. So talking to them would be ideal. "I'll think about it Sasuke, but the evidence I have-"<br>"I will let you have any genjutsu scrolls from my clan library you want if I am proven wrong," Sasuke interrupted.  
>This made Kurenai freeze. The Uchiha Clan were world renown not only for their Sharingan and Fire-Style ninjutsu, but for the genjutsu they were able to weave with or without their kenkei genkai. Not to mention the fact that it allows them to copy jutsu, potentially the Uchiha Clan Jutsu Library can have decades worth of genjutsu alone. The gamble at a chance at that collection for even a minute or two was to tempting for the genjutsu mistress to resist. "Fine, Sasuke, I'll take you up on your gamble. If it wasn't for Itachi being a traitor to the village, only he would have the authority to do that," she said brutally honest.<br>Sasuke silently seethed at the memory of his older brother. While Sasuke being the last Uchiha in the world other than his brother, he couldn't take the title of Clan Head until he was at least Jonin rank. Until then, this man named Danzo Shimura has proxy control of the clan's seat on the council and funds, but all say on who gets the secrets of his clan and who is able to access them is up to him and him alone; rank, status, or otherwise.

"It just so happens that a few of my friends are planning a inter-team training session for all of you to develop your skills together and a bit of socializing during work. I'll ask Shino and Shikamaru then," Kurenai said.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction. "Who's going to be there?" he asked.

"Asuma's, Kakashi's, mine, and a friend of Kakashi's genin teams will all be there. So, if I were you, I'd be there early, because it isn't often that three of the Hidden Leaf's experts are in one place," Kurenai warned him.  
>"Experts?" Sasuke asked oh-so-intelligently.<p>

"Yes, Kakashi is the ninjutsu expert of the village, his friend, Guy Might, is the taijutsu expert, and I am the leading genjutsu expert since your brother left, and Asuma can fill in for the one kind of ninjutsu that Kakashi can barely preform. So, in essentials, you have a jutsu buffet in a few days, Sasuke."  
>Kurenai swears to this day, she seen ryo signs in Sasuke's and cha-ching sound in his head, as well as a happy grin on his face that would give a certain ANBU the creeps.<p>

Inside the Hokage's office...

A ANBU wearing a bear mask had hold back a sneeze while hiding in the shadows inside the Third Hokage's office. He was watching Hiruzen slack off on paperwork and read a book by Master Jiraiya, giggling every so often. He always wondered what was up with that book, with both the Hokage, Kakashi and some of his fellow ANBU.

"Oh, just sneeze already Tenzo, it'll only get worse if you hold in and you may end up going death or getting erectile dysfunction," said the Hokage without even looking up at his book.

Tenzo's eyes widened and let out a quiet sneeze, making it seem like it came from a book. He wanted to sigh in relieve for two reasons, for letting out that sneeze and his sex life living for another day.

Back with Kurenai and Sasuke...

"You may go home now, Sasuke," Kurenai said, wanting to get away from the boy as much as possible. She noted as Sasuke walked away, there was a certain spring to his step.

"I sincerely hope I don't regret this inter-team meet..." she said holding her head and a mask of worry on her face. "Might as well hit the bar to get through this," she said walking to a ninja pub. Maybe she'll spoil herself and get some of the imported vodka tonight.

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><p><strong>Kurenai's favorite drink is vodka, people. Sake is Tsunade's. Anyway, we all know the procedure: "Read, Review, Subscribe, Follow, Repeat." ;D<br>Goodnight, y'all! 'til next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! I know this long overdue. My excuses are: moving, school, grounding, WoW, more grounding, and darn tooth pain. So yeah. My bad.  
>In any case, here in the next chapter in Honest Curse. it is short but signifigant. Read and you'll understand. Get to it. :D<strong>

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><p>Honest Curse: SeanStyle<br>Chapter 7: The Meet-Up

Sasuke woke up in a good mood for once. Not even Itachi haunted his dreams the night before. He was soon to be free of his false homosexuality as well as new jutsu. He had a few tomato sandwiches, had a pleasant shower (with some help from his imagination of a certain dumb blond). Things were going to look up. He actually had a joyful smile on his face instead of an arrogant one. The sheep of villagers were doing double takes at the fact that he wasn't brooding or being arrogant. Not even that creepy cripple who manages his finances could ruin his day. Perhaps if Itachi's head showed up on a silver platter would be cherry on the metaphorical sundae. Right now, he wouldn't even care if it were Naruto that killed him with "The Jutsu That Mustn't Be Named" via blood lost. He seen those books he had in the false bottom of his nightstand, if Naruto could make the Hokage perv-out from that maybe it could work on Itachi? He may ask him later, for now, establishing his sexuality.

Kurenai-sensei said that the place to meet was the 51st Training Ground, a.k.a.: The Fanned Wood. It was called so because of the odd trees growing there with no branches and large and fan-shaped leaves. It was on the other side of the village from the Uchiha Clan Compound to the Southwest. Sasuke looked into his pocket and checked his pocket watch. The watch was passed down to each second heir to the Uchiha generation after generation. Thankfully, Itachi didn't take any Uchiha artifacts. It was a silver color, with small onyx ticks and the crest for the Clan in the center. The watch read 8:30, so he had a half-hour to get to the training ground, he would get there in fifteen minutes. An Uchiha was always punctual after all.

Upon Sasuke's arrival he saw Naruto and Hinata cuddling (_Going to get you come-uppance soon, Naruto.)_, Sakura and Ino silently gushing over the couple's cuteness (_Thank the gods they haven't noticed me._), Kiba nursing a black eye and glaring at a eyesore in green spandex with huge eyebrows and a older double. (_Stupid mutt; plus, that spandex is more sickening than Naruto orange.) _Meanwhile, Asuma-sensei was smoking in a corner playing shogi with Shikamaru while Choji watched and munched and shared chip with his friend and teacher. Kurenai was looking straight at his with her porcelain mask and a glint of malice and greed in her ruby eyes. (_She's still hoping to win the bet?)_ Standing next to her was a long hair Hyuga and a girl in a Chinese shirt and hair in twin buns. Shino was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Sasuke, now all we need is Shino and Kakashi before we start, I hope you remember to bring the library key with you," Kurenai said with sweetness and a smile that belonged on a different woman.

"I hope you are ready to apologize to me, Sensei. Because I didn't bring the key with me," Sasuke told her with confidence and conviction.

"Shame, that'll be even less time for you to have to rest after your tort-, I mean training."

"Oh, either way I'll be at least getting stronger in some form, be it in mind or body, I just want to clear my name and make sure the Uchiha name will still live."

"I didn't think you actually thought that you could get pregnant, Sasuke. Are you by chance a hermanthrodite?"

"Shut up, Naruto. This conversation does not involve you."

"Can it involve me, Sasuke?"

"…Go away, Sakura."

The entirety of the Genin and Sensei watched the exchange with interest, especially Naruto (because Sasuke was getting told by his sensei), the spandex-wearing, weird genin (_Sasuke's flames of youth are dimmed by back-talking his sensei._), and Asuma (_Is it hot today?)_. Shino had arrived during the banter and had decided to stand back and watch. Choji had somehow procured popcorn and was sharing with Ino.

"Well, I expected today to be entertaining, but I certainly didn't expect this."

Everyone, including the Uchiha scion and genjutsu mistress turned to see Kakashi with a green book instead of his orange one.

"So, you've finally arrived, Kakashi, are you ready to prove whose Genin is stronger?" the larger spandex wearing man stated while stretching into a battle stance.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Guy?" Kakashi asked looking bored from his little, orange book.

"DAMN YOU KAKASHI WITH YOUR HIP ATTITUDE!" the Green Beast (Read: Freak of nature) bellowed to the heavens.

"In any case, we're all here now, so let's explain the reasoning why you're here," Kakashi said putting his book away.

"We decided to give you all a chance to improve on things you definitely need to survive out there given certain… situations at the moment," Kurenai put not-so subtly.

"My father, the Third Hokage, believes you need to be trained even harder. Ninja live fast and die young. We want you to at least see your thirties," said the bearded smoker doing his favorite habit.

"So, we will fan the flames of your youth and prepare you as best we can for the next week!" the green wearing man yelled, again.

"As such, all of us specialize in one or two essential ninja arts, I, myself in ninjutsu, Kurenai in genjutsu and chakra control, Asuma in Wind Style Ninjutsu and weapon techniques, leaving Guy with taijutsu. You can go to each of us if you want, or just one of us. Any questions?" the masked ninja finished looking over the dozen teens. The bun-haired girl was looking at Asuma hungrily, the rest looked either bored or eager. "Alright then. Before we start though, I feel like we should get to know each other a little bit."

"But Kakashi-sensei, we already know each other. We are all in the same graduating class," Sakura complained.

"Ah, that's true, but do you know each other's hobbies? What about each other's likes and dislikes? Dreams?" Kakashi asked. Sakura was about to say something, but found herself unable to. Kakashi only gave his weird eye-smile. "What I thought. In any case, thank you for volunteering to go first. Then introductions will go to your left. 'Kay?"

"Alright. My name is Sakura Haruno; I like Sasuke, trivia and word games, and Ino when she isn't being difficult. I hated it when Naruto asked me out, (thank the gods he stopped), Ino-pig when she is being difficult, and any spicy foods. My dream is to be a strong kunoichi and the wife to a certain strong shinobi."

"Hmm… Next?" Kakashi asked.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like Sasuke, my friend Sakura, and shopping, and pudding (everyone looked at her weird). What? It's my comfort food! Anyways, I hate it when Sakura's a little bitch, Choji and Shikamaru when they're lazy, and sashimi. My dream is to be a strong wife to a shinobi."

"I hate repeats. Next!"

"Troublesome. I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like cloud watching, shogi, and naps. I hate work and troublesome crap. My dream is to live my life how I planned."

"I think I know how my previous teams felt a little. Moving on."

"I am Neji Hyuga. I enjoy sparring and meditation. I hate weaklings and failures," he said glaring at Hinata and Naruto. "My dream is personal and will not share it."

"Sasuke Uchiha: Part II. Let's go with the original," Kakashi said dramatically.

"I am not like him. My name is Sasuke Uchiha; I have few likes, among them that are training and taking a walk every so often. I have many hates, including fan girls, people thinking I'm gay," he said looking pointy at Naruto who might as well as had a halo. "My dream is to avenge and restore my clan."

"Very surprising," Kakashi dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm Tenten, no surname. I like sealing, weapons, fortune telling, and Chinese food. I hate pickled plums, and spandex. My dream is to be a great kunoichi like Tsunade Senju."

A faint sneeze was heard in the distance, but everyone thought it was the wind.

"Better than the rest of the girls so far."

"I am Kiba Inuzuka! Akamaru and me love taking walks, eatin' beef jerky, and kickin' ass! We hate water, food that isn't chewy, and fuckin' farts! My dream is to be a strong ninja and a hot wife!"

"Predictable."

"I-I am Hinata Hyuga. I like my friends and flower pressing. I love my boyfriend, Naruto," all the other girls cooed while Kiba gagged. Kurenai only softly smiled. "I hate it when people look down on others, seafood, and my loved ones in pain. My dream is to reunite my clan."

Kakashi had only a smile for this.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I love my girlfriend, Hinata," again Sakura, Ino, and Tenten cooed. "I like my precious people, like Iruka-sensei, training and ramen. My hobby is gardening and culinary tasting, mostly ramen. My dream is to become Hokage, have a family, and make my parents proud of me!"

"They already are Naruto. Trust me," Kakashi said.

"I thought Naruto was a no-name orphan!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Kiba! You and I will have a talk after the group training is over," Kurenai said glaring at her student. Both the dog and boy nearly whimpered under the crimson gaze.

"Moving on," Asuma said.

"I am Rock Lee, the Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village! I enjoy training with Guy-sensei and curry! I d hate it when people are not honorable and respectful to opponents. My dream is to be a splendid ninja, even with no ninjutsu or genjutsu!" the spandex wearing teen bellowed.

"Great introduction, Lee!" said the bigger duplicate bellowed in a nice guy pose.

"Thank you Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"EVERYBODY HIT THE DECK!" Tenten yelled making haste to the tree line. Nobody questioned her except for Kiba, who had his back turned to the threat.

"Why is everybody running?" he yelled. He then noticed something missing from his person. "Hey, Akamaru! Where ya goin'?" he yelled after the pup who was running towards Sakura with his tail between his legs. The brunette was alone in the clearing. He then felt a light coming from behind him. So he turned.

He saw Guy-sensei and Lee on a beach during sunset. The duo was crying their eyes out while embracing.

It was the most horrible sight that Kiba had ever seen and would continue to haunt him for several years.

"MY EYES! MY EYES! THEY BURN!" Kiba exclaimed as he fell to the ground and held his eye sockets.

In that moment, the pair had finished and had rushed over, trying to remove the boy's hands from his eyes. When they finally did everyone saw that his eyes were letting off steam. Not a good sign.

"SOMEBODY GET A DAMN DOCTOR! CODE BROW! CODE BROW!" Tenten shouted as she tried to restrain Kiba on to a stretcher she unsealed.

"He'll be fine, kid. Just let me take care of that," said a confident voice. Everyone turned to see Tsunade and Jiraiya walking over casually.

"La-la-lady Tsunade?!" Tenten stuttered in shock that her idol was walking toward her.

Tsunade then sat down next to her in front of Kiba and started to examine his eyes. "Hmm… traumatic blindness, steaming from rapid dehydration. If left unchecked, the patient will be left permanently blind," she muttered as she started the Mystical Palm on the teen's pupils. Her glowing hands stayed over Kiba's face for three minutes before she stood up. She looked at Tenten for a moment while she dug through her medical bag. "Pull him up, Tenten, keep his hair out of his face." The weapon maiden did what she was told a little to eagerly and pulled Kiba to his feet by his hair. Tsunade then took bandages and gauze and proceeded to wrap them around his eyes carefully.

"Do not take them off for about a week, kid, two weeks to be safe," she told the blind ninja.

"How am I supposed to see then?!" Kiba yelled indignantly.

She chuckled a little darkly. "Are you sure you're from the Inuzuka Clan? Figure it out."

"What are you doing here anyway, Granny Tsunade?" Naruto said with a bit of mirth.

"NARUTO, YOU IDIOT! SHOW LADY TSUNADE THE PROPER RESPECT!" Tenten pounded Naruto's head in to the ground.

Seeing this, Sakura whispered to her friend. "Was I ever that bad to Naruto?" Ino looking away and remaining silent was her only answer.

"_Oh, gods. I'm horrible…"_ Sakura thought mortified.

"It's okay, Tenten. Although I hate being called that, he can get away with it every once in a while," Tsunade chided.

"He should still show you the proper respect! You are the greatest kunoichi to ever live! You're my idol!" Tenten yelled passionately.

"Tenten, my youthful student! There is no need to yell even though we are outside." Guy chided his student. Every last one person in the clearing looked directly at his with the same expression. An awkward silence passed along with a duck in the sky.

"In any case, the old pervert and I were just going to spy on the training meet thing," she started.

"But then you blew our cover for saving the dumb kid," Jiraiya stated.

"Oh, howdy to ya, Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted. Jiraiya proceeded to face-vault while Kakashi chuckled.

"Damn disrespectful brat. How are ya?" Jiraiya said with a smile.

Naruto didn't miss a beat. "How're the jewels? I can give you a instant replay if you want?"

Jiraiya subconsciously shielded his scrotum, while Naruto and Tsunade mirrored an evil chuckle with the same twinkle in the eye. "Look at you two! It's like you two are related!"

"Well, she's old enough to be my grandma. Who knows maybe she is!" Naruto stated with a grin.

"Well, we're both blonds, I guess it's possible," Tsunade said with a small smile with her hand tucked under her chin inquisitively. _"I think I may do a paternity test later this week."_

"In any case, while we're here we can help with training. I know some sealing jutsu and Tsunade here can teach you some medical jutsu," Jiraiya said pulling out his conveniently located sealing supplies.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Alright then, let training begin!"

Naruto went instantly to Jiraiya to see if he can't weasel some awesome stuff about his dad from him. Hinata went to Tsunade to learn how to heal. Sasuke took Shino by the wrist and dragged him to Kurenai who was contemplating how much genjutsu she could get (Read: steal) from the Uchiha Clan vault. ("Please let go of me, Sasuke.") Ino and Sakura chatted away happily and stared at Sasuke. Choji and Shikamaru sat in the shade and munch and snored away, relaxing. Lee went to Guy spouting along the lines of youth, fire, and water. Neji glared at Hinata for attempting to learn medical jutsu before going to a training post and practicing his Gentle Fist. Tenten was nearly having a panic attack, her gaze shifting between Jiraiya, Tsunade and Asuma. ("Why does there have to be so many damn choices?")

"Hey, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked as he went up to him.

"Stop calling me that brat! What do you want?" Jiraiya asked annoyed.

"What were my parents like?" Naruto asked with large, childlike eyes.

Jiraiya saw the look and knew it wasn't the one E-Rank kinjutsu. Naruto deserved to know, just not here, where people could hear; Especially the Yamanaka girl. He heard that she was a gossip. If she gets wind of Naruto's heritage, it'll be across the continent in a week tops.

"Later, Naruto. Not with so many people around," he said shifting his eyes. "I will tell you this though, the Uzumaki Clan had a knack for sealing jutsu, if you think you can handle it."

This put a fire in his eyes. "Oh, it's on now, Pervy Sage! Teach me all you got!" Naruto said with vigor. Jiraiya set to giving him an overview of sealing jutsu.

"Sealing jutsu's only limit is the caster's imagination. You can seal jutsu, chakra, objects, even living beings within the confines of the space. Each hand seal, each nature has a character equivalent. The first and most basic sealing technique is the Storage Seal. It will contain a single object within a small pocket dimension. When you seal an object, you essentially create your own universe and a portal to that universe."

Jiraiya showed Naruto how to create the Storage Seal. "First you need the special paper. Most scrolls will do for low-grade seals," he pulled out a standard scroll. "Special ink is needed no matter what. It has to either chakra-diluted ink or blood." He brought out a small metal jar and a brush. "This jar is made from chakra-conducting steel. It allows you to charge the ink inside." The jar lit with an ethereal, cerulean flame. "You'll need to keep it charge for a minute or two," the Toad Sage grunted. "Although, based on what I've read of your academy report and heard from Sensei, you only need a second." He stopped the flow of chakra and the jar was glowing blue. "You start with creating the space for the object." He drew a perfect circle on paper with the glowing ink. When the circuit was complete, the circle became the same blue as Jiraiya's chakra. "The pocket dimension is created. Small, but able to seal one chakra-less object."

This continued until Naruto tried it. Naruto got it perfect on his first try. Jiraiya inspected it. "Let's test it," Jiraiya took out a kunai and tried to push it through the seal. The kunai went through, which surprised Jiraiya. "Just as I thought. You did it well enough to seal a set of identical objects into the space."

"Awesome! I'm a sealing master!" Naruto proclaimed. "Next stop, Hokage!"

Everyone rolled their eyes. "As if! There's no way a clanless idiot like you could possibly become Hokage!" Kiba stated. "Tell you what, I'll become Hokage in your place. I doubt you'll even make Chunin!"

Naruto was seething. If Kiba knew who his parents were, he would see. But he promised the Old Man not tell anyone until he was strong enough. "Kiba! I'm tired of you bashing me! Let's go!" Naruto yelled getting in to his brawling stance, knees bent, arms at the ready."

"If you're that eager to be showed who's alpha then let's start! Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted charging towards Naruto.

Kurenai caught the dog boy five feet from Naruto. "Kiba, are you sure you want to fight literally blind?" his sensei asked with firmness. "Your eyes just suffered severe trauma. You are not fighting until their healed when either Lady Tsunade or a optometrist say so. Clear?"

Kiba merely gave a grunt in return.

"Just in case, I'm going to drop you back home. And tell your mother what happened." She proceeded to drag him out kicking.

"With that little debacle over, I want to test something Sensei told me. Haruno! Get over here!" Tsunade yelled.

Sakura stepped forward. "M-me, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked timidly. Tsunade merely nodded and curled her finger at her to come hither. Sakura did what she asked.

"Now, you and I are going to have a no bars hold spar. You will come at me with the intent to kill or you will die. Understood?" Sakura merely gulped and paled significantly. As well as the rest of the genin, while the jonin narrow their eyes._ What is she trying to accomplish?_

"Are you ready?" Tsunade asked. Sakura snapped to attention with a look of unbridled fear in her eye. "On the count of three." She dropped into her stance with her fist cocked. "One." Sakura stared into her eyes, silently pleading for her not to. "Two." Sakura started shaking like a leaf. "Three." Sakura screamed as Tsunade surged forward with the intent to send Sakura clear off the continent.

Her fist never made within five feet of Sakura, and Kiba was on his knees holding his ears. Tsunade was farther than when she started to charge, as well as flat on her back while everyone was looking on in amazement.

Sakura was still screaming, but the sound waves were visible, the waves and her entire eyes were a terrible shade of bloody red. She put a whole new meaning to screaming until you were blue in the face. From her elbows up and her face were a cold, deathly blue.

"Ow," was all Tsunade was able to groan out. _Well, Sensei was right about that theory._

"Tsunade! Are you okay?" Jiraiya ran over to her in a blur, genuine concern on his face. Others were mentally scratching their heads to figure out how a fresh genin was able to knock back a S-Rank shinobi, as well as one of the Legendary Sannin.

"What exactly happened?!" Sasuke and Naruto yelled at the same time.

"Lord Third had a theory about Haruno females that their screaming and annoyingly loud voices were some sort of bloodline. I just proved that correct," Tsunade groaned. Trying to heal herself. _Who knew sound hurt that much? I may have to break the seal to prevent permanent damage, as well as the mutt. _"Get the dog boy over her so I can heal his ears, all of you are dismissed for today, except for you, Sakura. When I finish healing Kiba, you, me, Jiraiya, and the jonin are going to see the Hokage."

When she saw no one moved she barked at them.

"I just can't help but wonder..." she thought out loud.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, there will be a poll, on whether or not Tsunade is Naruto's paternal grandmother as a single mom, with Jiraiya as grandfather, or even Dan as grandfather. In any case, Naruto will not have the Wood StyleRelease/Mokuton. It is seriously plot. It could affect the entire story. So vote darn you!  
>Also with Sakura's sound-thingy, that is a spin-off story reveal. Staring Sakura Haruno, trying to cope with this newfound power, how will she win the heart of Sasuke? Or is there another seeking her affections? Keep an eye out for Honest Curse: The Banshee Queen of the Leaf!<strong>


	8. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Okay, I know I haven't updated in quite a while. You deserve my explanation. Some people bought my grandfather's house and kicked us out. Simply put, we're staying in a cross between a roach motel and a apartment complex. Most of our stuff is in storage, including my computer. (Typing on mom's tablet.) So, until we're settled in a new home, my computer is out of reach.

The real purpose of this author's note is to inform you about the status of my stories. Honest Curse is not abandoned, but I will be rewriting it. Fangs of War is not abandoned. These notes will be removed at the end of November. I am going to be taking the time to have more than one chapter written before I post anything. By the New Year, I should have some progress.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your loyalty. I love you all.


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